ENERGY FOR ECOLOGY

Colin Manasse

ENERGY FOR ECOLOGY

ABSTRACT The Gulf Coast wetlands of southern Louisiana, the buffer zones between sea and civilization, are eroding before our very eyes. Energy for Ecology plans to use the energy provided by the natural coastal environment to restore its ecology, thereby protecting the areas population, industry, and civilization as a whole. Past wetland protection plans have used typical approaches to coastal erosion mitigation. Historically, protection plans tried to substitute the erosion of coastal areas by placing other objects, usually more land, dirt, or rocks directly between the coast and the water. These attempts have failed for a number of reasons: they underestimated the power of tropical storm events, they barely addressed one factor contributing to the problem, and they were generally piecemeal approaches to a problem of geological proportions. The combination of problematic factors in the geographical area is what allows for the protection plan proposed to be environmentally and economically sustainable. Tropical storm events, such as hurricanes, are typically considered destructive factors because of their own wind power; however they also cause storm surges which increase coastal erosion, thereby decreasing wetland buffer zones and exacerbating the problem. The energy in both the wind and storm surge caused by hurricanes is the source of a sustainable solution to the systemic problem in the Gulf Coast. Hurricane winds, ranging from 74 mph (65 knots) to more than 155 mph (136 knots), are an enormous potential source of energy. To reduce the risk of damage from the rapidly changing wind direction to the wind energy electricity generators, they should have vertical axis rotor and blades. Wave energy electricity generators can be attached to these structures in order to capture the energy of the waves and storm surge that occurs simultaneously, thus reducing coastal erosion. The combination of electricity generation technologies increases the economic return on the original investment, and captures the energy of the wind, waves and storm surge before it reaches urban or commercial areas. It is the electricity generating capability of these energy capturing devices that provides the protective capability of the plan. Running some of the electricity generated through a metal fence along the coast will cause calcification of the metal, thereby creating an artificial reef that will act as an underwater wall. This wall will prevent large waves from reaching the shore by causing them to crash at sea. Their energy will be captured by the previously mentioned wave energy electricity generators, some of which will be used to continue the calcification process. The reef wall will capture the soil being eroded, and can be positioned to channel the Mississippi back towards the coast, thus recapturing the silt and sediment it carries, effectively rebuilding the wetlands. This plan simply takes the previously destructive energy from the tropical storms in the area and turns it into constructive energy by transforming it into electricity, which is appropriately channeled. The wind and wave electricity generating structures would be interlinked, and connected to the electricity grid by cables that run the length of the reef wall on the floor of the silting area, continuously being buried. This not only keeps the cables at a lower temperature (higher efficiency), but also separated from the ecological processes occurring on the sea floor. This approach makes coastal protection economically profitable by producing a tradable commodity, and politically feasible by mitigating risks to the regions inhabitants while avoiding costs to the public. Waves, offshore winds, and coastal erosion are factors of all coastal areas; this systemic approach can be applied, with appropriate modifications, to many of them. Keywords: ecology, wave energy, wind energy, Louisiana, coastal protection, artificial reef.

ENERGY FOR ECOLOGY

INTRODUCTION The Louisiana coastal area is threatened by natural and anthropogenic factors, such as tropical wind storms and resource mismanagement. To conserve this local, regional, national and global resource in a lasting and sustainable manner, it is important to address the symptoms as well as their causes in a self-sustaining manner. To do so entails a systemic approach that provides benefits to primary and secondary stakeholders, as well as financial profitability to ensure the economic sustainability required for continued implementation and support. The potential primary and secondary beneficiaries of coastal protection are identified by the factors contributing to the present situation in the area, which are depicted and explained below. All coastal areas are subjected to erosion by the sea, which is a very natural process; coastal Louisiana is no different. However, the periodic flooding of the river allowed society to develop in this region because the resulting sedimentation replenished the lost soil, and actually built up the land. Since the early 1900s, the situation has been reversed: net land building has become net land loss. The previously existing natural processes leading to soil erosion have continued unhindered, even accelerated by the vegetation losses resulting from anthropogenic causes such as pollution. Simultaneously, artificial levee building and manmade controls on the dynamic Mississippi river system have prevented the natural deposition of sediment. Over 1.2 million acres (485,830 ha) of land have been lost since the 1930s, with a land loss rate of 15,300 acres (6,194 ha) annually between 1990 and 2000. By 2050, a tenth of the remaining coastal wetlands will be lost if the continued rate of erosion is only half of that in the past decade.1

Barras et al. 2003

ENERGY FOR ECOLOGY

PAST ATTEMPT

Klein, William P. Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA), Louisiana: Ecosystem Restoration Study. US Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District. November 2004.

ENERGY FOR ECOLOGY

The Mississippi River, and existing ecological conditions of the coastal area, provides the opportunity to address both issues of soil erosion and decreased sedimentation simultaneously. Past projects have failed because they provided only localized remedies, and were not on the order of magnitude and seriousness that the situation requires. One such example was the Christmas Tree Marsh Restoration Project that recycled Christmas trees and used them to construct fences that were supposed to slow wave action, trap sediments, and combat erosion.3 This project failed because the fences were decimated either by the first storms that would occur, or by the first hurricane of the season. The effectiveness of this project lay more in the reduction of landfill than it did in marshland restoration. Constructing a fence was a good idea; simply the materials and methods used were not adequate to the task undertaken.

ECOLOGY The construction of a fence in order to prevent soil erosion from the sea is necessary. However, the fence needs to fulfill certain requirements that will make it viable. The first requirement is that it withstand extreme sea conditions such as those presented during the annual hurricane season. The second is that it be feasible to install, both physically and financially. The third is that its installation be politically feasible and socially acceptable, meaning that it must be integrated into the ecosystem in which it is located. This will reduce the environmental damage of altering the existing geological cycle necessary to preserve the present ecosystem. The final requirement is that the fence be a continuous structure to prevent the previous localized remedy failures, and installed fast enough to avoid disruptions from hurricane season. The growth of an artificial reef from a metal fence basis (such as a chain link fence) fits all of the above requirements. The original metal fence would be relatively cheap and easy to install, as it could be simply unrolled from a spool at sea as it is being installed. It can be one continuous fence of almost any desired length, requiring minimal additional structural support. Although it would be extremely porous at the beginning, allowing it to withstand extreme sea conditions experienced during hurricane season, running electricity through it would cause calcification. This would provide a base for coral reef growth. It will progressively decrease its porosity, making it more effective at erosion protection over time.
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http://www.jeffparish.net/index.cfm?DocID=1333

ENERGY FOR ECOLOGY

The fact that the fence would actually be a reef makes it socially acceptable and politically feasible, as it will provide increased habitat diversity important for the reestablishment of marine flora and fauna populations, whose presence has dwindled, depicted by the areas colloquial name: dead zone. As a whole, the reef will protect the existing environment from further erosion and degradation.4 Its proper positioning can further increase the productivity of the fence. It should be placed in such a manner so that it will channel and capture the sediments from the Mississippi River along the coastal area, thereby physically rebuilding the wetlands.

ENERGY The source of the electricity required to induce calcification should take advantage of the conditions present at the site so as to avoid increased pollution from fossil-fuel electricity generation, transmission losses, and hence decreased financial and political viability. Since the fence will be located offshore, the sources of electricity should be limited to wind and wave energy. Wind Energy Wind is abundant in this region, as is depicted in this map from the University of Missouri:

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http://www.globalcoral.org/ http://extension.missouri.edu/Webster/webster/weather/US-WindZones01.gif

ENERGY FOR ECOLOGY

The technology used to capture the wind energy of the area has to be carefully chosen and adapted to the special meteorological conditions of the area depicted in the above map, and characterized by its hurricane predisposition. Typical wind generator designs, which take advantage of low wind speeds with more constant occurrence, are not well suited to these extreme tropical storm events. A new design, independent of wind direction and well suited for extreme wind speeds, is thus needed. The design that fits these characteristics is an adaptation of the Gorlov Helical Turbine.6 Implemented with a vertical axis makes it wind direction independent, and the design increases its efficiency. The wind forces the primary surface blades to turn, and then blows through to the interior surface of the blades on the other side of the central axis, essentially doubling the energy captured by other designs. This should enable it to operate even at relatively low wind speeds. While this design has not yet been fully engineered, and requires more testing and modeling; preliminary inquiries suggest its feasibility. Wind for Ecology This technology would be subject to the same constraints as typical wind energy generators in that the electricity produced would fluctuate, and in this specific case could overload the electricity grid connectors, or the grid itself. Any electricity produced in excess of connector or grid capacity could be redirected to the fence to induce calcification and help grow the reef. This dual purpose of electricity generation from wind energy provides both physical feasibility to the reef portion of the plan, but also financial feasibility since it would provide a source of financial revenue for the project. Wave Energy The region is depicted in the previous map as a hurricane susceptible region, which implies that during the annual hurricanes season there is a high probability of winds that are either tropical storms or hurricanes (maximum sustained winds greater than 39mph/63kph or 74mph/119kph respectively). 7 Winds of this intensity blowing over the sea are accompanied by waves of related and corresponding magnitude. The benefits of the project in terms of wetland preservation, but also financial revenue and return on investment, can be greatly increased by using the infrastructure proposed for wave energy technology in addition to wind generators. This

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http://www.gcktechnology.com/GCK/pg2.html http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/tropics/tc_classification.htm

ENERGY FOR ECOLOGY

would greatly decrease the capital cost/output ratio, increasing its financial feasibility and absorbing more of the energy that has greatly contributed to the erosion of the coastal areas. Waves for Ecology The appropriate technology must be chosen carefully so as to take into account the various factors that will determine the viability and sustainability of this portion of the project. As was mentioned previously, the arrangement of the reef, and the accompanying energy infrastructure, should be placed in such a manner as to channel the sediment along the coastal area. In order to accomplish this, layers of the fence should be installed so as to provide channeling, as well as wave breaking capacity, thereby reducing the energy intensity of the waves that reach the shore. The incoming waves during hurricanes will hit the outer layers with greater force and energy than the inner layers; therefore more robust technologies should be used here, even if less efficient. The technologies can decrease in robustness, and should increase in efficiency, as they are placed at decreasing distances from the shoreline since there will be proportionately less energy and relatively more mild conditions. Let us assume, for example, that research shows a three layered arrangement to be most appropriate (coastal fence, middle fence, and outer fence). The outer fence would require an extremely robust technology that could be impervious to large debris, and have relatively simple mechanism resistant to extreme wave amplitudes. In this instance the AquaBuOY design8, the Brandl Generator design9, the Wave Dragon design10, or a similar design integrated into the infrastructure would be most appropriate. The middle fence would be subject to lesser amplitude waves, but would still need to be resistant to a certain amount of debris, therefore a technology resembling the C-Wave system design11, the Pelamis design12, the WavePlane design13, or a similar design would probably be best suited for these conditions and requirements. The inner fence would be subject to waves of lesser amplitude, and conditions of lesser force since much of the energy from the waves would have been significantly reduced by the previous bathymetric differentials resulting from the outer and middle fences, the shallower sea floor, and the previously mentioned technologies. The greatest potential for decreasing erosion lies here, when technologies such as the
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http://aquaenergygroup.com/technology/index.php http://brandlmotor.de/brandlmotor_eng.htm 10 http://www.wavedragon.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=5 11 http://www.cwavepower.com/technology.html 12 http://www.oceanpd.com/default.html 13 http://www.waveplane.com/products.htm

ENERGY FOR ECOLOGY

WaveMaster14 or the WaveBlanket15 are applied. Although these technologies are more susceptible to hostile conditions because of their increased exposure, they tend to be more efficient, and will produce electricity on a more stable and consistent basis. This makes them especially well suited to provide the financial viability needed for the project. Ecology for Money ENERGY FOR ECOLOGY, the project that produces electricity to save the coastal wetlands, derives its viability from its low risk allocation achieved through the diversification of potential benefits and potential beneficiaries. The primary beneficiaries of wetland restoration will be the flora and fauna whose survival is dependent on these lands: 70% of fowl migrate through the US, more than 5 million birds winter in Louisiana, neotropical migratory songbirds and other avian species stopover in this habitat, many water bird species, such as the endangered brown pelican, nest here, and the more than 2 million people who used to live there who depended on the wetlands to buffer storm surges. The survival of these people, species, and their habitat is intimately connected to the preservation of the coastal area wetlands. Secondary beneficiaries include: the people who derive their livelihood from the wetland resources, as well as the companies who enable Louisiana to be the nations leading producer of oil and second producer of natural gas. The first group was responsible for the highest commercial marine fish landings in the contiguous United States totaling more than $343 million, and continued recreational enjoyment for fishing and hunting whose associated expenditures exceeded $1,100 million in 2001.16 The second group is comprised of companies whose profits from the 592 million barrels of oil and condensate produced in 2000 was valued at $17 billion, and whose gas production totaled approximately $1.3 billion, not counting the Outer Continental Shelf.17 The protection of the coastal wetlands, and the states economy, also comes from its liaison function for the rest of the country. The Port of South Louisiana handles more tonnage than any other port in the nation, in addition to which 34% of the natural gas and 29% of the crude oil supplies move through the state, by which they connect to almost 50% of the US refining capacity. 18 The protection of this internationally significant commercial14 15

http://www.oceanwavemaster.com/about.htm http://www.windwavesandsun.com/welcome.htm 16 Klein, William P. Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA), Louisiana: Ecosystem Restoration Study. US Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District. November 2004. 17 Ibid. 18 Klein, William P. Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA), Louisiana: Ecosystem Restoration Study. US Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District. November 2004.

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industrial complex adds influential members of the private sphere to the list of potential beneficiaries, greatly decreasing the risk of conflict between different energy providers who have historically opposed each other. The financial benefits from electricity production from renewable sources of energy only add to the viability and sustainability of the project as a whole. Previous wind and wave energy projects have, to date, had internal rates of return that discouraged investment because of their high capital costs/electricity output ratio. The solution thus far proposed has been to change the financial metric from the internal rate of return to the total investment/savings ratio, which makes renewable energy projects more financially viable because of their longer return on investment period. This project addresses this issue by increasing electric output using the same infrastructure. The internal rate of return will therefore greatly improve since the capital cost/revenue will greatly decrease because of increased output. Capital costs are the single largest expense of wind and wave energy projects: approximately 98% (allowing for 2% for operation and maintenance costs). Under either financial metric, this project is highly financially feasible. CONCLUSION The diversification of beneficiaries from this project greatly increases its political potential. As previously stated, the existing commercial-industrial complex will benefit from decreased supply and production risk due to increased storm protection, as will the coastal urban areas, and the deltaic ecosystem as a whole. ENERGY FOR ECOLOGY draws its potential and feasibility from its diversification of benefits, beneficiaries, and technologies. This reduces individual risk burden and the cost/output ratio of renewable energy electricity production. These traits make the project politically practical, economically feasible, and financially profitable, all of which are characteristics necessary to make the concept globally applicable.

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