MTS Tech Surge Presents Production of Renewable Ocean Energy

November 2-3, 2016, experts in the field of ocean energy are gathering to share their knowledge of ocean energy generation and how it can be harnessed to benefit non-grid connected users. There are plenty of places on earth that require power, but are nowhere near an electrical grid system. They principally use diesel generators that spew hydrocarbons into the air and cost a lot to transport to the sites. Harnessing power from the sea and from moving water obviously has been around forever.

But now there are many new technologies and methods to convert the kinetic motion of water (waves, current, tides, thermals, salient gradients) to clean efficient power for home, industrial, research or military applications on islands,  in remote coastal areas where there are no roads or in the middle of the ocean where there are arrays of sensors monitoring ocean temperatures and other oceanographic parameters for weather forecasting.

The gathering will kick off in the historic downtown area of Portsmouth, NH. On Wednesday November 2, there will be a tour of the Living Bridge project, which demonstrates how a tidal turbine can be used to power a suite of sensors that are measuring the bridges’s movements. UNH’s Center for Ocean Renewable Energy will host the tour and afterward attendees will head to one of the local “watering holes” to learn more about the bridge project  and about the a series of test sites located in New England to help ocean energy device developers get their gear in the water in a cost effective manner.

The next day, Thursday Nov. 3,  the group will convene at the Portsmouth Courtyard Marriott where panelists from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, the National Data Buoy Center, the Island Institute and the Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative will give their perspectives on the current need for non-grid connected ocean energy devices.  There will be fifteen additional technical sessions addressing novel turbine designs, wave energy conversion devices, autonomous wave powered energy systems for aquaculture operations, wave driven desalination production, methods to assess the power output potential of tidal and river systems and much more.

There will be plenty of time to network, catch up with colleagues and view some of the exhibits on display. This event is being sponsored by the Marine Technology Society, Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative, Oregon Wave Energy Trust, Teledyne Marine, OGI, Dialytics, UNH Dept. Ocean Engineering and the Marine and Oceanographic Technology The event organizers welcome additional sponsors for the “watering hole” event on Wed. Nov. 2 and to exhibit their products and services.