GRAND CANCUN ECO ISLAND cleans up the ocean while generating renewable energy

Richard Moreta Castillo has envisioned a grand offshore marine platform on stilts to commemorate the 50th anniversary of beginning of Cancun’s development in 2020. Although the design for the mega Grand Cancun eco-complex will include all of the luxury amenities often associated with a project of this scale, including underwater dining and shopping galore, the project’s inspiring eco ethos is all-encompassing.

The entire surface of the offshore platform will be covered in solar panels that will provide energy for both Grand Cancun and the main city’s national grid. Vertical wind turbines and underwater tidal wave energy collectors will produce even more clean energy. A rainwater collection system allows water to be collected and then reused, which combined with a mini desalination plant will make the complex completely self-sufficient.

http://www.ortablu.org

Sea and land breeze power the eco friendly Beach Lamp concept

Designed by Zengzhu Deng the Beach Lamp aims to illuminate the beach for late night beach goers, making their beach outing a lot safer and convenient. The environmentally friendly streetlight comes with an onboard vertical axis wind energy generator that runs on land and sea breeze. 

The onboard turbine efficiently converts land and sea breeze into electricity, which is then stored in an onboard battery. After dark, the stored energy is utilized to power a set of LED lights to illuminate the beach in an environmentally friendly way. Since the streetlight incorporates a vertical axis wind generator, the concept will also be safe for birds too.

New offshore turbine design to create and store energy

http://phys.org

Bermuda to Harvest Its Ocean Currents for Renewable Energy

In the first deployment of the technology rendered here, Bermuda will get its electricity from the flow of water driven by its ocean currents, tidal currents, and other coastal water flow using Submersible Power Generators.

 

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2006/03/bermuda-to-harvest-its-ocean-currents-for-renewable-energy-44257

Floating solar-powered Waternest eco-home is nearly 100% recyclable

The 1000-square-foot floating pod-shaped home measures 12 meters in diameter and 4 meters tall. Its curved body is constructed from recycled glued laminated timber and a recycled aluminum hull. The rounded wooden roof is topped by a 60-square-meter photovoltaic array capable of generating 4 kWp. Four skylights flank both sides of the photovoltaic array. Large windows and balconies wrap around the unit to allow users to enjoy views of the water.

The developers created a “sophisticated system of internal natural micro-ventilation and air conditioning” to classify the building as a “low-consumption residential habitat.” The WaterNest 100 also features a flexible interior design that can be changed to suit different uses. If the owner doesn’t intend to use the unit as a home, the floating ecologicalpod could easily be reconfigured into an office space, lounge bar, restaurant, shop, or exhibition space.

Perth's Carnegie Wave Energy project

The Carnegie Perth Wave Energy Project is rolling out its multimillion-dollar plans to prove that waves can generate real power for the electric grid on land. Submerged in the roiling seas off the coast of Perth in Western Australia, buoy-like CETO technologies will harness energy from incoming swells and convert it into electricity and desalinated water—no greenhouse gas emissions required.

Read more: Perth's Carnegie Wave Energy project produces clean power and potable water from the motion of the ocean | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building 

Floating Phytoplankton Farm Absorbs Carbon Dioxide and Monitors Rising Sea Levels

Bloom is a futuristic semi-submersible farm dedicated to growing phytoplankton-microscopic marine organisms that play a key role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The farm would also monitor rising sea levels, filtrate salt water into fresh water and issue tsunami warnings. Designed by Paris-based Sitbon Architectes, Bloom was selected as one of the five finalists of the international competition Architizer A+Awards, in the category “Architecture+Weather.”

 

The floating spherical structure is conceived of as a way to address global warming and rising sea levels. Large phytoplankton aquariums, supervised by a permanent staff of scientists and marine experts, would be used to regulate the amount of oxygen in areas most severely impacted by global warming. Phytoplankton would absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen through photosynthesis. The Bloom capsule will not only produce additional oxygen-it will also filter salt water into fresh water.

The capsule is attached to the seabed by a system of cables and acts as a facility for controlling water levels. Sensitive to even the smallest sea level variations, the structure would also be able to detect tsunamis and issue timely warnings.

 

Oil Platforms Transformed Into Sustainable Seascrapers That Produce Clean Water

97% of water on the Earth is salt water, and only 3% is fresh water of which two thirds is frozen in glaciers or ice caps. With over 884 million people still using unsafe drinking water sources, finding a remedy to the world's water issues is a top priority. Designed by YoungWan Kim, SueHwan Kwun, JunYoung Park, JoongHa Park, this incredible concept seeks to transform the worlds off-shore oil platforms into a collection of sustainable seascrapers that will be able to produce and store fresh water straight from the ocean. The project also contains a research facility, housing pods for workers, and each platform is transformed into green spaces for recreation and evenagriculture. The team's incredible design has just received an honorable mention in the 2011 eVolo Skyscraper Competition.

The teams design provides a new use for existing drill pipes, using them to pull up water, rather than oil, to be stored in a spherical tank. The narrow and long capillary tubes have the power to raise water vertically and harnesses a natural phenomenon that doesn't require a separate energy source.

 

The team’s design provides a new use for existing drill pipes, using them to pull up water, rather than oil, to be stored in a spherical tank. The narrow and long capillary tubes have the power to raise water vertically and harnesses a natural phenomenon that doesn’t require a separate energy source. Amazingly, the water movement will even generate enough energythat it can be channeled and used for the site’s facilities.

After the water is drawn up it will go through a series of distillation processes, in turn producing fresh water that could later transported to countries in need. The out of commission drill points would also be used to create space for labs, lodging and management space focused on studying the marine eco-system. The concept sees the structures spread out across the ocean and to also aid in lowering the sea level and mitigating the effects of CO2 and global warming.

This clever reclamation and reuse of drill ships speaks volumes for green innovative design, first by addressing the environmental costs of oil drilling, the subsequent CO2 emissions resulting from the oil, and of course the water issues facing the world’s population today.

http://inhabitat.com