OMS News

September 30, 2011

Project: Boil the Ocean, Status Upate

Hope you enjoyed the summer! Project: Boil the Ocean continues to take strides:OMS Logo

  • Planning an OMS R&D center to be located in the Greater Cleveland area. It will include, among other features: solar power, energy-efficient design, rainwater collection, and a small urban garden.
  • An automation and controls software framework is currently in beta testing. Compared to available automation and controls solutions used in both research and manufacturing today, it is highly customizable and can be used for very large, complex systems.
  • Personally traveled throughout the Midwestern and Southwestern US, in search of a good location for launching BTO. A lot goes into choosing a location, and this travel helped narrow the available choices further than a simple internet search.
  • Currently testing a desalination system that will efficiently remove salts and dissolved solids from salt water. Unlike current desalination systems which dump waste brines into the sea, such technology will make possible 100 percent use of all the components in seawater, producing zero waste products, and producing fresh, clean water.

Sketch of an R&D building concept.

Multimedia associated with BTO will be on the website soon; stay tuned.

February 9, 2011

Small Scale Solar Thermal Power Systems: For You, For Me and for the World

Multiple groups are in the process of developing small-scale solar thermal power systems for remote areas where utility power is not readily accessible. A not-for-profit group, STG International, based in Massachusetts is working to provide electricity and hot water to off-grid schools and clinics using solar energy technology. The for-profit Promethean Power Systems is developing a solar-powered refrigeration system for commercial cold-storage applications in off-grid and partially electrified areas in developing countries.

According to Popular Mechanics, these design concepts are using Solar arrayparabolic concentrators to collect solar thermal power. Utilizing an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) generator, the systems are able to produce electric and heated power. Total hardware costs for the STG system are only $3,000 for a one kilowatt electric power with water heating system. Automotive parts and other off-the-shelf components are used to keep costs low.

The approach of these groups is in line with what we at OMS and Project: Boil the Ocean are attempting, right down to the use of creative hardware parts for cost efficiency.

For you…for me…for the world.

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