Norwegians and Dutch en route to clean, renewable energy

I read this article and I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I should probably cry and shout "Why wasn't that us!?". Looks like Norway and the Netherlands are developing a new energy source that is generated when fresh river water meets the salt water of the ocean. Apparently it is not entirely a new idea, it is just that the means to do so have not been viable until now. It won't be ready for a while yet, but hey, you don't get to a destination by standing still. I'll let y'all read the article. Here's some snippets or two and the link. In the meantime I'll go and sulk in the corner.

<http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051216/lf_nm/energy_water_power_dc>

LEEUWARDEN, Netherlands (Reuters) - "Water will be the coal of the future," French science-fiction writer Jules Verne predicted in 1874.
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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.

snip

"It's basically harvesting the energy that comes free from a natural process," Wetsus managing director Johannes Boonstra said in his agency's laboratory in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden.

snip

The principle behind the Norwegian device is that fresh water and salt water are channeled into a membrane module. The fresh water is transported through the membranes and over into the pressurized sea water. The pressurized mixture of sea water and fresh water flows out of the module and into a hydropower turbine that generates electricity.

so it would be unpatriotic to even consider anything like this! :sarcasm:

K & R

It doesn't sound like a winner.

As to whether or not it is "clean," one should consider the role of estuaries in ecology before commercializing such a system.

The cost should come down as the technollogy develops. As far as estuarine ecology is concerned you make a good point. Just about any activity to generate energy is going to have an effect on the environment. Even if one could build some kind of plant that generated infinite amounts of energy from nothing you would still need to tear up the ground and local ecosystem to build it.

If you are the Netherlands or Norway the trade-offs are likely not going to look that bad as this technollogy develops.