Water currents previously believed to mutilate docks, oil rigs and coastal buildings will now light them up with their energy. Thanks to Michael Bernitsas, creator of VIVACE (Vortex Induced Vibrations for Aquatic Clean Energy) and a professor in the Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Department at the University of Michigan, the slow-moving river and ocean water currents have now become a new, dependable and inexpensive form of renewable energy that would cost about 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour.

Inspired by the fishes which curl their bodies to glide through the vortices produced by their forerunners, VIVACE has a cylinder which when hung horizontally across the water flow generates vortices above and below it. These vortices then push the cylinder to and fro on the springs attached to it, thereby generating mechanical energy which is later converted to electricity. The device can work even when the currents are at a mere speed of 2 knots (about 2 miles per hour).

Bernitsas believes that an array of VIVACE converters if stacked in a running track fashion about two stories high would be able to light up about 100,000 homes. I agree with the designer’s opinion that a single energy source wouldn’t be enough to meet the world’s energy needs, so we need to constantly discover sources like these to match the demand.

Source: ENN