The renewable ‘salinity power’

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126972.000-salt-solution-cheap-power-from-the-rivers-mouth.html

This link explains how electric energy can be obtained by exploiting the chemical difference between the fresh water of a river as it enters the sea and see water.
Perhaps about 7% of all our would energy can be obtained from this one renewable source.

Originally posted by Andrew Hamilton
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126972.000-salt-solution-cheap-power-from-the-rivers-mouth.html

This link explains how electric energy can be obtained by exploiting the chemical difference between the fresh water of a river as it enters the sea and see water.
Perhaps about 7% of all our would energy can be obtained from this one renewable source.

I think money would be better spent on improving solar energy and battery technology like this liquid battery I mentioned. It seems to me there would have to be a hundred thousand stations to make significant energy that way, the article didn't seem to show the generation of much energy in the lab experiment, milliwatts, I think. Of course that would be scaled up but it seems to be a bit weak on the power end to justify spending billions or tens of billions on such a project. It certainly could be an adjacent generation to add to a grid but 7% of the world? I think the world is generating something like 50 terawatts so that sounds like the possiblities extend to 4 or 5 terawatts at best. That is still a lot of energy for sure. I just think solar energy could beat it. Prices going under a dollar a watt now for production costs and that's not the end of that process, it will undoubtedly get to more like 50 cents a watt for production costs in the near future. That and the Magnesium/antimony liquid battery could really set up a real grid.

I've heard of this before, not sure how commercially viable it is though.

Originally posted by sonhouse
the article didn't seem to show the generation of much energy in the lab experiment, milliwatts, I think.

hmm, the article sais something else, i dont know if its alot tho..
"While their first membranes generated about 100 milliwatts per square metre, the latest version generates over 3 watts per square metre, close to their target of 5 watts."