Page 7 - North American Clean Energy January February 2015

Tracking bioenergy legislation
Underwater “kite” turbines
With thousands of proposed bills loating through Congress every session, it’s diicult Power generation driven by ocean energy from currents, temperature diferences,
to keep track of legislation pertaining to a speciic topic. To help the public, industry, tidal movements, and waves is nothing new. It has been undergoing extensive study

and decision makers quickly and easily ind legislation related to the production and use in Europe and the United States, primarily as a form of renewable energy and as a
of biofuels, the Energy Department’s Bioenergy Technologies Oice (BETO) recently measure to counter global warming. Seems Japan is next in line with the latest in
launched the Bioenergy Knowledge Discovery Framework (KDF) Legislative Library.
underwater turbine technology—and one that loats like a kite.
With expectations of market growth, IHI Corporation and Toshiba Corporation
he Bioenergy KDF Legislative Library allows users to search for information about passed and
pending legislation relevant to the production and use of biofuels in the United States. In addition have been selected by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development
to the Legislative Library, the newly revamped Bioenergy KDF has tools and applications, maps, Organization (NEDO) to co-research and develop related ocean energy technology.
and other resources related to bioenergy production, distribution, delivery, and end use.
Within this framework, a unique “underwater loating-type, ocean-current

turbine system” has been developed by the two companies, and is set for ocean
Bioenergy KDF is part of BETO’s overall eforts to transform the nation’s renewable and abundant demonstration, with the project expected to continue until FY2017.
biomass resources into cost-competitive, high-performance biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower.
he technology includes a power-generation device with two counter-rotating
turbines. his system is anchored to the sea loor, and loats like a kite carried and

Bioenergy Knowledge Discovery Framework (KDF) Legislative Library
driven by the ocean current. IHI is the lead company in the co-research project and
www.bioenergykdf.net
will manufacture the turbine and the loating body. Toshiba will supply electric
devices, such as the generator and transformer.
Ocean currents, such as the Kuroshio Current, are natural energy resource. If

Japan succeeds in converting the enormous energy of ocean currents, it will provide
the island nation a large-scale, stable energy source.

IHI Corporation | www.ihi.co.jp/en

Toshiba Corporation | www.toshiba.co.jp

Understanding energy
storage

Interested in how innovative energy
storage technologies can overcome
power limitations in applications such as

photovoltaics? “Energy Storage Devices for
Electronic Systems: Rechargeable Batteries
and Supercapacitors,” by Nihal Kularatna
(2014), breaks down the latest storage

devices in a practical, application-based
context.
he book covers batteries and battery

management systems (BMS), along with
recent advances in supercapacitors. It
provides a unique compare-and-contrast
examination, demonstrating applications

where each technology can ofer beneits.
he author also includes speciic examples
of circuit designs that optimize the use
of supercapacitors, with pathways and

suggestions to improve existing designs
for efectively managing energy storage
devices—which are becoming an even more
critical component of many low- and high-

powered applications.

Elsevier | Science and Technology Books
http://store.elsevier.com

North American Clean Energy 7