Norway launches osmotic power

Published Date: 25 November 2009
By Wojciech Moskwa
NORWAY has opened the world's first osmotic power plant, which produces emissions-free electricity by mixing fresh water and sea water through a special membrane.
State-owned utility Statkraft's prototype plant, which for now will produce a tiny 2-4 kilowatts of power or enough to run a coffee machine, will test and develop osmotic technology.The plant is driven by osmosis that naturally draws fresh water across a membrane and towards the seawater side. This creates higher pressure on the sea water side, driving a turbine and producing electricity."We believe osmotic power will be an interesting part of the renewable energy mix of the future," Statkraft Chief Executive Baard Mikkelsen said.Statkraft, Europe's largest producer of renewable energy with experience in hydropower that provides nearly all of Norway's electricity, aims to begin building commercial osmotic power plants by 2015.The main issue is to improve the efficiency of the membrane from around 1 watt per square metre now to some 5 watts, which Statkraft says would make osmotic power costs comparable to those from other renewable sources.Future full-scale plants producing 25 MW of electricity, enough to provide power for 30,000 European households, would be as large as a football stadium, Statkraft said