Florida school seeks to harness Gulf Stream's power

Florida Atlantic University is getting almost $1.2 million from the federal government to investigate the possibilities of tapping energy from the Gulf Stream.

The work is being done at the school's Center for Ocean Energy Technology in Dania Beach, a partnership involving academia, industry and government. The Center's South Florida Testing Facility is focusing on the development of technologies to capture commercial-scale power from ocean currents, waves and tides at a cost competitive with fossil-fuel-based generation.

Through a pilot project currently underway, the Center plans to install a small-scale ocean current turbine off the shore of south Florida in order to assess the technology's practicality and environmental impact.

Scientists have said they think the Gulf Stream has the potential to provide up to a third of Florida's energy needs -- the equivalent of six nuclear power plants. There are concerns about the effect the massive blades could have on migratory fish species, but the evidence so far suggests the fish simply swim around the blades.

(Illustration of planned Gulf Stream turbine project from the FAU website)