Environmental Design + Construction - February 2009 - (Page 37)

the possibility of using hydrogen as a common energy source comes closer to being a reality, we’ll still need to address the issue of human safety. supposed to harness. Furthermore, installing and repairing systems is made costly due to the difficulty of working in coastal areas. accident; they came by work.” We hope that everyone keeps working toward a greener future. Riding the Waves As witnessed by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami tragedy, enormous amounts of energy can be stored in waves. Under normal circumstances, waves are fairly consistent and regular—thereby giving them the potential as a source of energy. Scientists and inventors have been developing devices to harness this energy for years. It was only recently, in fall 2008, that the first fully functioning commercial wave farm went online off the coast of Portugal at Aguçadoura. Designed and built by Pelamis Wave Power for Enersis, three 465-foot-long P-1 A wave energy converters, weighing about 700 tons a piece, produce a total of 2.25 MW of electricity for about 1,500 homes during peak hours. Each wave converter consists of four articulated sections. When the waves move up and down, these four sections move too. At the hinges between sections, hydraulic rams utilize the wave motion to drive generators, producing power. This energy is transported by underwater electrical cable to the Aguçadoura substation and fed into the Portuguese national grid. The station at Aguçadoura plans on installing an additional 25 of the carbon steel-constructed converters to bring the total power production to 21 MW. Other wave energy converter models continue to be developed and refined by Pelamis and others. The most glaring drawback to wave energy is what impact, if any, there will be on marine life with the installation of these systems. As of right now, there are more questions than answers and studies are being conducted by a number of organizations in the search for answers. What is already known is that the world’s oceans can be brutal. A major hurdle in designing and constructing a wave energy converter is ensuring its longevity against the power it’s Riding the Waves Persistence Pays While necessity is the mother of invention, great ideas don’t always “just happen.” As Edison once said, “I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by DERRICK TEAL IS MANAGING EDITOR OF ED+C MAGAZINE AND SUSTAINABLE FACILITY MAGAZINE. CONTACT HIM AT TEALD@BNPMEDIA.COM. Robbie Ferris loves InsulStar "Truly effective design drives energy performance." "When I’m designing a building I begin at the nexus of design assumptions and real-world building performance: the envelope. I specify InsulStar® high performance spray foam insulation because I know and trust it. InsulStar® gives me great ﬂexibility in my designs, can be used with poured concrete, primed steel, wood, CMU, and most other construction materials. InsulStar® adds solid LEED points, is safe, and can save up to 40% in energy costs. If you want energy efﬁcient, comfortable, sustainable, and healthy buildings you have to design and build them with great materials. InsulStar® is the ideal place to start." Robert W. Ferris, AIA, REFP, LEED AP ® *To hear more from Robbie Ferris visit www.insulstar.com/rferrisEDC L VE CEO and Co-Founder of SFL+a Architects, Co-Founder Firstﬂoor, Inc., providing turnkey development solutions to educational institutions. Healthy Schools for Healthy Children INSIDE Choose InsulStar® high performance spray foam insulation for buildings that save on energy costs everyday! STARTS ON THE Sculpture: Gyre, Thomas H. Sayre, N.C. Museum of Art Reader Service No. 191 www.EDCmag.com/webcard EDC02094NCFI.indd 1 www.EDCmag.com 1/19/09 2:18:49 PM 37 http://www.insulstar.com/rferrisEDC http://www.insulstar.com/rferrisEDC http://www.EDCmag.com/webcard http://www.EDCmag.com

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Environmental Design + Construction - February 2009 Contents WebTOC Editor's Note Newsline New + Notable Diamonds in the Rough Alternate Alternatives Case Study: Energy Goes to School Product Focus Marketplace + Classifieds Advertiser's Index Parting Shot

Environmental Design + Construction - February 2009

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