Originally published January 20 2006
Norway uses river and sea water to create clean energy
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Dutch Center for Sustainable Water Technology and Norway's independent research organization, SINTEF, have created a new energy company, Statkraft, that attempts to make use of sea and river water to power generators.
More than a century later in a world seeking clean alternatives to fossil fuels, Dutch and Norwegian scientists believe they can help turn Verne's dream into reality.
The Dutch Centre for Sustainable Water Technology or Wetsus, and Norway's independent research organisation SINTEF, working with power company Statkraft, have invented devices that generate electricity by mixing sea and river water.
It might seem like an exercise in scientific theory destined only for high-tech laboratories, but the process' creators and the European Union, which funds the Norwegian research, believe the idea's time might have come.
"There is huge potential in Europe to use this new way of producing electricity," Philippe Schild, scientific officer at the European Commission's energy directorate, told Reuters.
Global warming and high oil prices have renewed interest in sustainable energy, with solar, wind, biomass, hydrogen fuel cells, tidal and wave power getting most attention.
But researchers in Norway and the Netherlands, known for their water technology know-how, say there is room for other alternatives given the world's ever-growing appetite for energy.
The new devices are based on a natural process -- when a river runs into the ocean, a huge amount of energy is unleashed because of the difference in salt concentration.
Both methods rely on membranes or thin films made of special material used for chemical separation.
The Norwegian device applies pressure to force the water through membranes.
The skin of the hotdog acts as a membrane, allowing more water in than the amount of salty water it lets out.
The principle behind the Norwegian device is that fresh water and salt water are channelled into a membrane module.
It started in the 1990s and its creators have already installed two small-scale plants, but have yet to build a bigger demonstration plant to boost production.
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