Japan’s research and development centres have been lagging other countries on tidal and wave energy, but now researchers say they may have a technology that could make Japan an exporter of power generation systems utilizing ocean currents by 2020.
IHI Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, the University of Tokyo and Mitsui Global Strategic Studies Institute have created a successful model, which is one-fortieth the target size. The system consists of two turbines that spin in opposite directions while anchored to the ocean bed. A full size unit could theoretically provide 2 megawatts of energy regardless of the time of day or weather conditions, making it suitable as a baseload power source.
The Ocean Energy Council notes on its website that the global potential of ocean currents may be over 450,000 MW, representing a market of more than US$550 billion. Because salt water is much denser than air, it requires less motion to generate kinetic energy. A five knot ocean current generates more energy than a 350 kilometre per hour wind.
In Asia, Japan and the Philippines are the most-cited markets for energy from ocean currents.
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