A professor claims the creation of man-made ‘energy islands’ which would be anchored in the North Sea and the English Channel could help the world meet increasing energy demands.
University of Portsmouth Professor Carl Ross said the floating islands would be attached to the sea by tubular pillars with vacuum chambers in their bases, similar to offshore drilling rigs.
The ocean engineer estimated around 120 islands could be dotted around the UK and would sit around five miles out from the coast line.
The fields would be around 1,000metres by 1,000metres in area size and Professor Ross estimates that each structure would have a 10MW power output.
Professor Ross said: “One of the problems we are faced with, especially in smaller overcrowded countries such as those found in Europe and Asia, is the NIMBY syndrome — that is, the Not In My Back Yard reaction of people.
“People very often complain that using these renewable methods of producing energy takes up valuable land space, is unsightly, and causes noise.
“By putting these three renewable energy producing forms on a floating island, we can avoid all these negative points. Two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, so we are not ‘losing’ dry land — in fact, we are colonising the oceans.
“Once this technology is matured, humans can even start living on the floating island to help counter over-population.
“In 2011 the United Nations announced that the global population has reached seven billion and the momentum of a growing population does not show any signs of slowing down.”
Energy would be produced by harnessing the power of the wind, tide, and sun.
The ideas have been outlined in an essay by Professor Ross which was co-authored with Mechanical Engineering student Tien Siew and published in The Journal of Ocean Technology.
The islands would support wind turbines and solar panels on their upper surface, while underneath tidal turbines will harness the power of the oceans.
It’s estimated each island would have enough supply to power 119,500 homes.
The islands would cost around £1.7billion – but the Professor claims the initial cost would be recovered within two years through household energy bills.
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