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I remembered that hawaii had a project going on with water power and went to check up on their progress. The youtube videos are the begining and the bottom link is the update.
Details according to wikipedia, but no references...
Quote:
Lockheed Martin's Alternative Energy Development team is currently in the final design phase of a 10-MW closed cycle OTEC pilot system which will become operational in Hawaii in the 2012-2013 time frame. This system is being designed to expand to 100-MW commercial systems in the near future.
Hawaii is pretty amazing - when we honeymooned there in 2001 we saw a wind farm on the Big Island, they are way ahead of their time - I believe they also mandate that new construction has to have solar panels (not sure if that's PV or solar thermal).
The Kamoa wind farm at south point went bust years ago. Its now a rusting hulk and enviromental problem for Hawaii. Hawaii is a perfect example of how alternative energy is possible, but only to the extent the infastructure exist to support it.
Hawaii is also a great place to see how fast things can go from viable to headache. Hawaii's experimental energy programs and tax credits is why many alternative projects use the area for testing. But rememebr, these are still experiments and cost is not a concern. So if it cost $500,000 to produce one kilowatt, affordability is not the objective, just if the technology will work.
But I will say, Hawaii is the alternative capital of the US, not because of some enviromental or social awareness, but out of necessity. Many areas still do not have grid power so PV, single wind turbines, etc are just normal life. I have seen more verticle axis wind generators on Hawaii than anywhere else in the US. Even catchment water is so routine, you can go to a local home improvement store and pick up tanks, filters and UV systems right off the shelf. I even seen PV units packages to be bought and taken home in the back of your car.
I think the solar requirment is for Hawaii County (Big Island) and requires all new homes to have solar hot water heaters.
The experiments on Hawaii are designed more to see if something can be done. Once they got that down, they have to figure out how to lower the cost. Experiments at the National Energey Lab of Hawaii have shown great ability for green energy but they just can't get actual real world cost low enough to make it workable.
Oh the wind farm back in 2001 was the one I was talking about that went bust, but there is a new one that went online, much lower capacity with much fewer windmills. The old one has problems with being dismantled due to size. Hawaii doesn't have the equipment and snce it's not connected tot he rest of the US, its not like calling a service a few states away to send a big crane. They can't topple them because of the oil contamination that would follow. It was a great idea, but too big for too little an area. Not to mention we're talking major corrosion from salt air. Hopefully the newer ones will last beyond a few years.
Hawaii also has Puna Geothermal Ventures that produces electricity. geothermal is the most abundant source of alternative eneregy on Hawaii, but for some reason, seems to be not used like you would think.
This nautical harvest is supposed to be geothermally based if you followed the OP. From the wiki article I read even though it was generating a decent amount of power, the amount of power the plant itself was consuming was astronomical. Something like 85% was spent on it's own processes. Hopefully they're getting that wrestled down.
Hawaii isn't alone in that isolated situation. Alaska, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands have the same predicament. Shipping costs kill everything in economies that are generally slower to begin with, but exasperated by geography. The terrain being conducive to goats, goat meat it is.
Geothermal really has serious potential, it unfortunately isn't considered as "sexy" as shiny solar panels. I was at a solar workshop and heard a fellow describing a new building technique where for new construction they install a sandbox under the foundation, about the size of a modest swimming pool (I think the guy said it was about 6 feet deep).
they run geothermal pipes through the sand which are connected to radiant floor heating. with sand being such a lousy conductor of energy, there is a (going from memory here) massive lag time before heat transferred into the sand during the summer starts to work its way into the radiant floor system- he said if designed properly, the hear usually starts becoming noticeable in mid-late October or so, so worst-case scenario is you might have to open some windows if it's unseasonably warm at that point.
the cooled water can also be used to defray air-conditioning costs by transferring it into existing HVAC systems, it's amazing stuff.
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