Brazil Goes to Sea to Get Electricity

The cadence of ocean waves can generate electricity, and Brazil’s first wave plant should be installed early next year off the coast of the state of Ceará.

The pilot project, which is being developed by researchers at the Coordination of Post-Graduate Engineering Programs (Coppe) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), will produce 50 kilowatts of energy, enough to supply 200 homes.


The idea is the child of UFRJ professor Segen Farid Estefen, and it began to become a reality when the oceanic tank was inaugurated.


The tank was projected by the Coppe and simulates ocean conditions and the phenomena that occur as far as two thousand meters.below the surface.


“The tank generates waves, and my research uses these waves to generate energy. The same kind of research is being developed in other countries, and the results that have been obtained are promising for this clean energy alternative,” Farid added.


According to Farid, the coast of Ceará was chosen as the site of the wave plant pilot project, because the waves along that coast are quite uniform, which is conducive to the generation of electricity.


The scientist explained that US$ 1.04 million (3 million reais) will be required to install and monitor the plant for a year.


The wave plant project was presented today at a roundtable to discuss renewable energy sources on the second day of the X Brazilian Energy Congress, in Rio de Janeiro.


Around 500 researchers and specialists from Brazil and various other countries are attending the event, which runs through October 28.


Agência Brasil
Translator: David Silberstein

Tags:

You May Also Like

US Visa on a Brazilian passport

US Visa Denial to Brazilians Dropped by Half. Over 85% Get It

The article “Things Couldn’t Get Worse to Brazilians Seeking US Visa. Still They Did,” ...

Brazil coffee for export

Brazil Exports US$ 3.4 Billion of Coffee in a Year. An All-Time Record

Brazilian coffee exports yielded US$ 3.4 billion between March 2006 and February this year. ...

For UN LatAm’s Had Worst Export Decline Since 1937. Brazil’s Drop: 22%

Latin America and the Caribbean exports should decrease by 24% in 2009 compared with ...

Computers are reading the future

h2>In Brazil these days, fortune tellers, palm readers, astrologers and all types of future ...

Brazil Expected to Raise Key Interest Rate This Week

Concerned with inflation, Brazilian Central Bank President Henrique Meirelles said Brazil’s next government will ...

Short story

Machado de Assis O ESPELHO Esboço de uma nova teoria da alma humana   ...

American-Style Presidentialism Has Been a Recipe for Disaster in Brazil

Due to long-lasting problems with populism and clientelism, one might say that the presidential ...

Brazil Campaign Doubles Number of Bone Marrow Donors

The number of bone marrow donors in Brazil doubled in the past year, after ...

Congo President Makes Extended Visit to Brazil

The President of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, started an official visit to Brasil yesterday. ...

Brazil Wants to Know Where Brazilians Keep Their Racism

The 117th anniversary of the Lei Àurea (Golden Law), which ended slavery in Brazil, ...