Look at this amazing technology of producing energy out of salt water.
Salinity (the levels of salt in the water) drives the ocean currents. As ice cannot hold salt, when ocean water freezes, all the salts coagulate around the poles and it becomes saltier and denser around the poles, causing it to sink to the ocean floor. When more water sinks in the poles and upwellings are caused by the wind system towards the tropics, this water is subsequently pushed or dragged towards the equator. When the water reaches the surface, it is drawn back towards the Poles as more cold water sinks and is replaced by this now-warm water. Thermohaline circulation is the term for this revolving process.
Larger than any rivers we have on land, the rivers that these forces produce are way more enormous that are created inside the ocean. Consider the Kuroshio current off Japan's east coast. It may move 75 miles per day and transport as much water as 6,000 major rivers, making it the ocean's greatest current.
Yet because thermohaline currents don't depend on erratic weather patterns like wind or a clear sky, they have a steady flow and are a perfect source of energy. Also, we also have the option to construct buildings inside the currents without destroying the oceanic habitat because of the characteristics of marine ecosystems. In reality, these buildings will serve as artificial reefs and have the power to increase marine biodiversity and biomass.
Ocean current power thus has the potential to be the ideal green energy source. As opposed to solar and wind, it doesn't need pricey, enormous grid-level megabatteries to maintain output consistency, which lowers its carbon impact and eliminates the need for questionable mining practices. Also, because ocean current power is located 100 m below the surface, it does not destroy oceanic habitat like solar power or obstruct ships like wind farms. Moreover, the Kuroshio current is thought to be capable of producing up to 205 GW of power, which is similar to Japan's current entire annual electrical output.
IHI Corp, a manufacturer of heavy equipment in Japan, steps in at this point. With astounding accomplishment, they just finished testing the Kairyu size prototype sub-sea turbine. This means, not only such an unthinkable technology of producing electricity out of oceanic waves is becoming practically possible without any damage to the ecosystem and without leaving any carbon footprint, the work has already begun involving corporations that have invested capital, manpower and resources into this revolutionary technology.
