The Young Man And The Sea

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FIT graduate student Will Cole displays his uniquely designed turbine that potentially will channel ocean currents into electricity. It is referred to by the acronym S.H.A.R.K.E.S., for Spiral Hydro Accelerated Rotary Kinetic Energy System.

Harnessing the sea’s currents to provide a clean and renewable source of energy is an exhilarating concept. It is believed that the power of the world’s ocean currents and waves is vast enough to meet all our global energy needs – now and in the future. Yet many inherent challenges exist, from mooring the mechanical power components to the sea floor to coping with the corrosive nature of sea water.

These and other obstacles are currently being addressed just up the road from Vero Beach at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne. And graduate student and Vero Beach resident Will Cole is helping to push the design development forward in order to channel ocean currents into electricity. He is, in fact, on the verge of obtaining a patent for a modified turbine that could prove to be the answer to the vexing concerns that have caused failure in the past.

Read the entire article in the April 2011 issue

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