Technology that generates energy using underwater currents in a unique way has been boosted by a federal grant, as reported by partner company Sandia National Laboratories.
Alaska-based Sitkana's innovation outfits fishing vessels sitting idle in the offseason with propellers that can harness power from tidal or river currents. Sandia in New Mexico is helping the Alaskan team to design, operate, and test the system.
Sitkana was one of seven projects to receive a portion of $7.4 million in grant allocations, all per a Sandia press release.
"This grant enables us to leverage existing maritime resources to create a sustainable and economically beneficial energy solution," Sitkana CEO Lance McMullan said in a story by Renewable Energy Magazine.
The startup details two versions of the tech on its website. The Chinook is for "sailors, liveaboard owners, and off-grid individuals." A 6-foot by 3-foot, 100-pound propeller is dropped beneath the boat to catch energy from moving water. Orca uses an anchored, 12-foot platform on the surface, which secures multiple propellers underneath. A Sitkana video rendering shows six of them. This option is meant to provide power to coastal homes, communities, and even cities, according to Sitkana.
The design of both units mimics natural Alaskan creatures. Chinook acts like its salmon namesake in the water, with an aft rotor that "steers into the current." The systems are anchored in tidal waters "like Bull Kelp, extending toward the surface." The rotor is shrouded, a design borrowed from snail shells, as Sitkana describes it.
Sandia sees the collaboration as a way to tackle regional problems, in this case helping to power communities that can experience seasonal electricity supply challenges during peak demand seasons.
The findings from the research could be leveraged elsewhere, too.
"These projects allow Sandia to have more of an impact on the local, regional, and national economies," Mary Monson, Sandia's senior manager for technology partnerships and business development, said in the press release.
It's a unique spin on hydropower, which is often characterized publicly by massive projects like Hoover Dam. But significant energy can be gathered from moving water using much smaller installations. Special turbines being developed in Belgium are geared to make electricity from low-speed rivers, for example.
About 6% of U.S. electricity is generated by hydropower, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Sitkana's concept offers a new way to incrementally add to the tally, limiting the amount of energy needed from fossil-burning sources. This, in turn, reduces harmful, heat-trapping air pollution spewed into the atmosphere that heats the Earth.
Worse yet, our oceans are warming, too, due to a combination of natural weather patterns and human-caused overheating, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The report notes that sea levels are rising as a result, jeopardizing coastal communities.
While a Sitkana Chinook isn't going to stop the problem on its own, the invention can be part of a renewable energy transition. As one option, community solar programs can save you up to $150 a year in electricity bills without installing any tech at your home. Some quick online research can get you started.
Renewable Energy Magazine reports that Sitkana's tech will include open-source software that will allow the public to assess marine energy potential at their local water sources.
"It's a win-win for both the environment and the local communities," McMullan said.
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