Gallery: Harnessing the Energy of Ocean Currents

Underwater turbine farm

Ocean energy turbine

Crowd Energy's turbine consists of three sets of blades that resemble window shutters. These structures are designed to close when water flows in the same direction the blades are moving and open when water moves in the opposite direction. The force of the water turns the blades and makes the shaft rotate, and a generator converts this rotational energy into electricity.

Deep sea energy

ocean energy turbine installation — (Image credit: Crowd Energy)

While energy generated from these turbines may not be able to completely replace fossil fuels, as the group claims, the devices could still be an important source of clean energy, experts say.

Installing the turbines

Todd Janca, the founder of Crowd Energy, plans to build a production-scale turbine with a 100-foot (30 meters) wingspan (and ultimately, much larger ones). Janca estimates that one of these turbines could generate 13.5 megawatts of electricity — enough to power 13,500 high-use American homes, he said.

Giant generators

The main concern is how the turbines could affect nearby marine ecosystems. The turbines would be located at depths of 300 feet (91 meters) or more, in areas of fast-moving water where not many things live.At any rate, the sensory systems of these animals are good enough to detect and avoid the turbines. In addition, the blades themselves would be slow moving and have gaps large enough for most creatures to swim through. Still, it's impossible to know exactly what the impact of these systems will be without testing them at sea.

Ocean test

Janca and his colleagues plan to test their turbine prototype at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Next, they plan to build a larger prototype to evaluate at the university's open ocean testing site, located off the coast of South Florida. Their goal is to have four full-scale turbines working and generating power by 2015, according to the group's website.

Tanya was a staff writer for Live Science from 2013 to 2015, covering a wide array of topics, ranging from neuroscience to robotics to strange/cute animals. She received a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a bachelor of science in biomedical engineering from Brown University. She has previously written for Science News, Wired, The Santa Cruz Sentinel, the radio show Big Picture Science and other places. Tanya has lived on a tropical island, witnessed volcanic eruptions and flown in zero gravity (without losing her lunch!). To find out what her latest project is, you can visit her website.