The Rise of New Sustainable Energy Methods

Creating a Greener Tomorrow

Whether it is developing sustainable methods of creating energy, innovative nature-inspired designs, or architectural revolutions, attention over the environmental crisis the world faces has increased over the past years. The public’s pursuit for a greener future has reflected onto the engineering community, resulting in societies undergoing a transformative shift to more sustainable and eco-friendly methods of energy production and usage. As traditional energy sources, such as oil, natural gas, coal, and biomass, are now being recognized for their negative impact on the environment, the spotlight has now turned to alternative sustainable energy methods, marking the beginning of a clean and renewable power generation.

Offshore Energy Production

Passing the extensive field testing period, CorPower Ocean has announced their new C4 model is now ready for commercial use. Patrik Möller, co-founder and CEO of CorPower Ocean, hopes that this new and improved method of creating energy will pave the way and inspire people to create more alternative energy production methods. According to the HydroReview, CorPower Ocean’s Wave Energy Converters (WEC) anchors onto the seabed, similar to a buoy, and stores kinetic energy produced by waves as it floats above the surface. Within the buoy, the company installs a power take-off (PTO) system which is designed to convert mechanical energy from the waves into electricity – once the energy is generated by the WEC, it is transmitted to CorPower Ocean’s facility via underwater cables, and can be integrated into the local power grid for customers in the area. Furthermore, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology claims that the WEC also has the ability to help decarbonise our atmosphere and may be able to displace approximately 0.8 to 1.6 Gigatons of CO2 annually.

This innovative method of sustainable energy stands as a beacon of hope for our society, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and other limited natural resources. This proves beneficial when mitigating climate change, fostering economic and technological growth, and providing an increase in job opportunities across coastal regions. Carolina Eriksson, an engineer at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology based in Stockholm, Sweden, believes the potential of WEC’s and the progress it has made thus far shows that it will be able to compete with other sources of energy when taking its price and electrical power into consideration. Eriksson and numerous other experts on the field are looking forward to the progress CorPower Ocean will make once it is commercially available. 

Living Seawalls

Along with insufficient energy usage, modern society has also caused a decrease in natural habitats, especially in coastal regions, to lose large areas of natural habitats causing a significant decrease in biodiversity. James Redmayne from the World Economic Forum claims that approximately 50% of natural shore habitats have been altered due to sea walls and pilings which are unable to sustain natural life as well as a rocky, natural coastal barrier. Based off of Sydney Harbour in Australia, Living Seawalls has developed 3D printed concrete panels that imitate  the natural rocky coastlines which can be attached to a seawall, often with oyster, sea weeds, and other natural resources attached. 

Living Seawalls currently has installations across Europe, South East Asia, and Australia. Project co-leader and UNSW professor Mayer Pinto, shares that the team has observed “a total of more than 90 species colonizing these diverse panels and we see 30 to 40 percent more species on the panels in the living seawalls then on the unmodified parts of the seawall” and hopes that this will be the beginning of more coastal structures built in the future that is ecologically sustainable for both humans and the local ecosystem.

Sponge Cities

Tropical cyclones, floods, drought, and landslides have become increasingly common in recent years, causing property damage, environmental degradation, and lethal consequences. In China, an architectural revolution has been in the making, as “sponge cities” have been implemented across the country. Created by Professor Kongjian Yu, sponge cities are designed for rainwater to be absorbed and stored through sustainable drainage systems, while incorporating green infrastructure and is able to reduce the damage from flooding and inundation (ArchDaily). In contrast to using permeable surfaces, such as concrete and asphalt, Professor Yu has replaced the traditional materials with wetlands, rain gardens, and green roofs which makes it significantly easier for rainwater to infiltrate to the ground instead of storm drains. 

According to a study conducted by NPR, a majority of large cities in China are now susceptible to floods and 60% of them experience flooding each year. Professor Yu has actually been proposing the concept of sponge city since the 1970’s, however was only given 20% of urban areas to implement the sponge city concept, and in 2023 the percentage has risen to 65% as the concept has gained popularity in China (NPR). Decreasing both the frequency and severity of flooding across the nation, Yu hopes that his new architectural concept will be implemented on an international scale in the future.

Conclusion

These technological and architectural innovations are the stepping stones of communities getting together to further develop an environmentally sustainable world. Collectively embracing more sustainable methods of renewable energy and environmental safekeeping, we can pave the way for a greener tomorrow.