FINGERS CROSSED:

COET recently received authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under a nationwide permit to deploy the ADCPs in the Atlantic Ocean. If everything goes according to plan, the researchers hope to have their test turbine in the water this fall....[More]

FINGERS CROSSED:

COET recently received authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under a nationwide permit to deploy the ADCPs in the Atlantic Ocean. If everything goes according to plan, the researchers hope to have their test turbine in the water this fall.

Florida is mulling ways to reduce its reliance on other states for energy. "We want to figure out how to generate our own energy," says Howard Hanson, COET's scientific director.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

SIGNALED BY SONAR:

The orange Styrofoam ADCPs—about as big as a "good-sized FitBall " used for exercise, Hanson says—communicate with the surface using acoustic modems (much like computers used to connect to networks by translating analog signals carried by phone lines into digital ones they recognize)....[More]

SIGNALED BY SONAR:

The orange Styrofoam ADCPs—about as big as a "good-sized FitBall" used for exercise, Hanson says—communicate with the surface using acoustic modems (much like computers used to connect to networks by translating analog signals carried by phone lines into digital ones they recognize). The battery-powered ADCPs are chained to anchors that keep them about 35 feet (10 meters) above the ocean bottom. When the researchers want the balls to float to the surface, they send a sonar signal into the water that is picked up by a sensor connected to the anchor chain, disconnecting the ball from its anchor.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

RED TAPE:

COET's project could be slowed down by federal permitting procedures and policies . The Obama administration recently gave the U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service ( MMS ) control of offshore wind and solar projects, including the power to issue leases and easements for wave and ocean current energy development....[More]

RED TAPE:

COET's project could be slowed down by federal permitting procedures and policies. The Obama administration recently gave the U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) control of offshore wind and solar projects, including the power to issue leases and easements for wave and ocean current energy development. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has the power to issue licenses for building and operating wave and ocean current projects.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

LAST MINUTE MAINTENANCE:

Shirley Ravenna, a COET engineer, prepares the ADCP equipment for its deep dive. The Gulf Stream flows north by northeast about 15 miles (25 kilometers) off Florida's southern and eastern shores at a rate of more than eight billion gallons (30 billion liters) per second....[More]

LAST MINUTE MAINTENANCE:

Shirley Ravenna, a COET engineer, prepares the ADCP equipment for its deep dive. The Gulf Stream flows north by northeast about 15 miles (25 kilometers) off Florida's southern and eastern shores at a rate of more than eight billion gallons (30 billion liters) per second.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

The ADCPs each have a sonar device at the top that bounces sound waves off the water above and use the Doppler shift of the returning sonar waves to infer the water's speed, Hanson says.

BUILDING A NATIONAL LAB, UNDERWATER:

When the researchers are able to test their underwater turbine (whose blades are 35 feet, or 10 meters, in diameter), it will be anchored to the ocean bottom and connected to a buoy floating on the surface to keep it in place....[More]

BUILDING A NATIONAL LAB, UNDERWATER:

When the researchers are able to test their underwater turbine (whose blades are 35 feet, or 10 meters, in diameter), it will be anchored to the ocean bottom and connected to a buoy floating on the surface to keep it in place. The turbine will also be hitched to a pontoon boat, where the scientists will be able to get readings on the amount of energy the turbine is generating.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

TEST BED:

Hanson and his colleagues ultimately envision an ocean-based laboratory where dozens of turbines can be tested simultaneously at different depths and configurations to determine what works best....[More]

TEST BED:

Hanson and his colleagues ultimately envision an ocean-based laboratory where dozens of turbines can be tested simultaneously at different depths and configurations to determine what works best.

COET researchers are hoping that eventually companies developing tidal turbine and other marine-based renewable energy technology will be able to test their equipment at COET's National Open-ocean Energy Laboratory (NOEL). COET has received some $15 million in federal and state funding since 2007 for its research.  [Less] [Link to this slide]