The U.S. Interior Department is reviewing a proposal from a Florida university to launch an experimental project to generate electricity using the power of the Gulf Stream, the warm-water current that flows along the eastern U.S. and the North Atlantic. In the first application to test an ocean current system on the U.S. outer continental shelf, Florida Atlantic University wants to install a test hydrokinetic system about 17 miles off Fort Lauderdale. According to the application submitted to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, the university-operated Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center would install a single-anchor mooring and buoy to support 23-foot-diameter turbines during a five-year test. While the system would be limited to 100 kilowatts of power capacity and would not be allowed to produce energy commercially, the university sees the project as a chance to establish a foothold for a renewable energy resource that, unlike solar or wind, can produce power 24 hours a day. As part of the review, officials will evaluate whether installation and operation of the system would affect ocean sediment, marine life, or existing human uses.
Florida University SeeksTo Tap into Power of Gulf Stream
More From E360
-
INTERVIEW
At 11,500 Feet, a ‘Climate Fast’ to Save the Melting Himalaya
-
Oceans
Octopuses Are Highly Intelligent. Should They Be Farmed for Food?
-
Climate
Nations Are Undercounting Emissions, Putting UN Goals at Risk
-
Solutions
As Carbon Air Capture Ramps Up, Major Hurdles Remain
-
ANALYSIS
How China Became the World’s Leader on Renewable Energy
-
Biodiversity
As Flooding Increases on the Mississippi, Forests Are Drowning
-
Climate
In Mongolia, a Killer Winter Is Ravaging Herds and a Way of Life
-
Energy
In Rush for Lithium, Miners Turn to the Oil Fields of Arkansas
-
Food & Agriculture
How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting World’s Groundwater
-
INTERVIEW
What Will It Take to Save Our Cities from a Scorching Future?
-
Climate
Rain Comes to the Arctic, With a Cascade of Troubling Changes
-
Health
Plastics Reckoning: PVC Is Ubiquitous, But Maybe Not for Long