Energy harvested from evaporation could power much of US, says study

[ScienceRocks]

Energy harvested from evaporation could power much of US, says study
September 26, 2017
Nature Communications finds. Credit: Columbia University">
The southern and western United States have the greatest capacity to produce evaporation-generated power from lakes and reservoirs, a new study in Nature Communications finds. Credit: Columbia University

In the first evaluation of evaporation as a renewable energy source, researchers at Columbia University find that U.S. lakes and reservoirs could generate 325 gigawatts of power, nearly 70 percent of what the United States currently produces.


Though still limited to experiments in the lab, evaporation-harvested power could in principle be made on demand, day or night, overcoming the intermittency problems plaguing solar and wind energy. The researchers' calculations are outlined in the Sept. issue of Nature Communications.

"We have the technology to harness energy from wind, water and the sun, but evaporation is just as powerful," says the study's senior author Ozgur Sahin, a biophysicist at Columbia. "We can now put a number on its potential."

Energy harvested from evaporation could power much of US, says study

Interesting!

 

[anotherlife]

Very interesting indeed. Humans love killing their environment. Now every lake will get a pool cover. There is an artist, I think French, but I forgot his name, Christo(?), whose art is to put everything in wrapping foil. One of his most popular is when he wrapped a whole ocean island at Miami in polystyrene. Nobody said what happened to the plants and animals after the art.

 

[flacaltenn]

Energy harvested from evaporation could power much of US, says study
September 26, 2017
Nature Communications finds. Credit: Columbia University">
The southern and western United States have the greatest capacity to produce evaporation-generated power from lakes and reservoirs, a new study in Nature Communications finds. Credit: Columbia University

In the first evaluation of evaporation as a renewable energy source, researchers at Columbia University find that U.S. lakes and reservoirs could generate 325 gigawatts of power, nearly 70 percent of what the United States currently produces.


Though still limited to experiments in the lab, evaporation-harvested power could in principle be made on demand, day or night, overcoming the intermittency problems plaguing solar and wind energy. The researchers' calculations are outlined in the Sept. issue of Nature Communications.

"We have the technology to harness energy from wind, water and the sun, but evaporation is just as powerful," says the study's senior author Ozgur Sahin, a biophysicist at Columbia. "We can now put a number on its potential."

Energy harvested from evaporation could power much of US, says study

Interesting!

sure sure.. back of the envelope numbers. COULD power 70%.. More reliable than wind/solar. Sounds great don't it?

So on the map -- when the lakes and reservoirs are frozen 3 months of the year or more -- where's the energy?

What's the environmental effect of STIFLING 1/2 of the hydro cycle and killing it off in drought prone areas?

Will it take LONGER to saturate the atmos for it rain when man is preventing all that evaporation and convection? It definitely will make some areas have much "drier" air...

 

[anotherlife]

Energy harvested from evaporation could power much of US, says study
September 26, 2017
Nature Communications finds. Credit: Columbia University">
The southern and western United States have the greatest capacity to produce evaporation-generated power from lakes and reservoirs, a new study in Nature Communications finds. Credit: Columbia University

In the first evaluation of evaporation as a renewable energy source, researchers at Columbia University find that U.S. lakes and reservoirs could generate 325 gigawatts of power, nearly 70 percent of what the United States currently produces.


Though still limited to experiments in the lab, evaporation-harvested power could in principle be made on demand, day or night, overcoming the intermittency problems plaguing solar and wind energy. The researchers' calculations are outlined in the Sept. issue of Nature Communications.

"We have the technology to harness energy from wind, water and the sun, but evaporation is just as powerful," says the study's senior author Ozgur Sahin, a biophysicist at Columbia. "We can now put a number on its potential."

Energy harvested from evaporation could power much of US, says study

Interesting!

sure sure.. back of the envelope numbers. COULD power 70%.. More reliable than wind/solar. Sounds great don't it?

So on the map -- when the lakes and reservoirs are frozen 3 months of the year or more -- where's the energy?

What's the environmental effect of STIFLING 1/2 of the hydro cycle and killing it off in drought prone areas?

Will it take LONGER to saturate the atmos for it rain when man is preventing all that evaporation and convection? It definitely will make some areas have much "drier" air...

But look at the positive. You will make a ton of money by buying then selling those municipal bonds which take federal support to implement this. You just have to sell them one day before they apply for disaster relief when they dry out.

T-boon Pickens has already bought out all the water from Texas to California by the way.
They bottle it at the end of the pipes in San Antonio.