Energy from osmoses in The Netherlands
March 20, 2024
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Only up to powering light bulbs so far, “salt power” is a tantalizing, if distant, prospect as high oil prices make alternative energy sources look more economical.
Two tiny projects to mix sea and river water – one by Oslofjord south of the Norwegian capital, the other at a Dutch seaside lake – are due on stream this year and may point to a new source of clean energy in estuaries from the Mississippi to the Yangtze.
The experiments, which seek to capture the energy released when fresh and salt water are mixed, build on knowledge that has been around for centuries – in one case imitating the process of osmosis used by trees to suck water from their roots.
Although they are far from being economically feasible, if eventually successful they might help a long-term quest to diversify away from fossil fuels such as coal and oil, widely blamed for stoking global warming.
Read the whole article on the Globe and Mail web site.