Florida Gulf Stream turbines might whirl out energy

DANIA BEACH - It's free, has zero emissions and sits off the Florida coast just waiting to be tapped.
A boon to ship captains for centuries, could the Gulf Stream, which runs along Florida's east coast before curving out across the Atlantic, also be a major source of clean energy for the state?
"This is the closest location on the planet of a major ocean current to a significant urban center of electrical demand," said Rick Driscoll, director of Florida Atlantic University's Center of Excellence Ocean Energy Technology in Dania Beach, known as Sea Tech. "Its potential is immeasurable."

Driscoll envisages a vast field of thousands of underwater propeller turbines tethered to the ocean floor - imagine a wind farm hundreds of feet under the sea - slowly spinning in the current.
Some scientists say the Gulf Stream's vast energy content could provide up to one-third of the state's electricity needs, equivalent to six nuclear power stations. Realistically, that potential remains something of a dream right now. Of all the emerging alternative technologies, ocean energy is perhaps the least advanced. But it may be starting to catch on.

"Ocean energy is where wind was 20 years ago," Driscoll said. "There are a lot of concepts and designs."

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Sea Tech began work on ocean energy at its Dania Beach campus in 1999 under the leadership of Driscoll, 37, who holds a dual doctorate in mechanical engineering and oceanography.
Driscoll said the center's first prototype of an ocean current turbine, 10 feet in diameter, will be deployed later this year. Researchers want to see how the turbines behave in the current and what effect the massive blades might have on migratory fish species.

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While wind farms have attracted opposition from bird lovers, the notion of undersea turbines has so far not caused a stir. That may be because the Gulf Stream is not especially hospitable to marine life, Driscoll said. Its warmer temperature causes evaporation, making the water saltier.

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Because 70 percent of Florida's population lives within 10 miles of the ocean, advocates say ocean energy is ideal. Its proximity offshore means reduced transmission costs.

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The potential energy "capture area" stretches about 100 to 200 miles from the lower Florida Keys to St. Lucie County, with the best potential around Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

"This is the sweet spot down here," Driscoll said.