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Navy fights terrorism with wave energy

The U.S. Navy is powering an array of ocean sensors with tidal energy to monitor maritime traffic for security threats.
Written by David Worthington, Contributor
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The renewable power system replaces diesel generators.

The United States Navy has enlisted tidal energy to power an array of sensors that it uses to monitor maritime traffic for suspicious activities, a vendor affiliated with the program announced this week.

The system is connected to Ocean Power Technology’s PowerBuoys. Each buoy contains autonomous power storage systems and deploys additional communications technologies from CODAR Ocean Sensors and Rutgers University's Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences.

A US Coast Guard vessel deployed the buoys earlier this month, which are anchored approximately 20 miles off of the New Jersey coastline. The renewable system is replacing diesel fuel generators.

Recently, a Marine Corps base near San Diego announced that it would soon be meeting half its energy needs with landfill gas. Several other bases are already utilizing solar and wind power. The Navy has also contracted for solar technologies at it Hawaiian Pacific command.

The U.S. armed forces have made the adoption of renewable energy technologies a strategic priority. Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn said in April that reducing the military’s dependence on fossil fuel sources is correlated with its ability to project power overseas.

Some of its recent projects among the armed services have included pilot projects to use biofuel blends in Air Force fighter jets, hybrid Army blimps, and an entire Marine Corps unit is now functioning entirely on solar power.

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