A hydroelectricity generating unit capturing marine current energy includes a floating hull, at least one paddle wheel assembly, at least one generator assembly, a torque transmission system, and an anti-drift mooring system. The at least one paddle wheel assembly is rotatably mounted to the floating hull and operatively coupled with the at least one generator assembly by the torque transmission system, wherein a kinetic energy of the at least one paddle wheel assembly is transferred to the at least one generator assembly by the torque transmission system to generate hydroelectricity. The torque transmission system can be a hydraulic system, a pulley system, a multiple gearbox system, or a direct driveshaft. The floating hull is tensionably coupled to a subsurface environment by the anti-drift mooring system, enabling the least one paddle wheel assembly to capture water current.

A negative-pressure wave generator has a flow-driven assembly and a power-generating assembly disposed in the sea. The flow-driven assembly has multiple Venturi tubes connected to a power generating culvert of the power-generating assembly. The power generating culvert has a generator assembly. When sea water passes, the Venturi tubes generate negative pressure to make the water flow into the flow-driven assembly from the power generating culvert. A large pressure difference is formed between outside sea water out of a turbine disposed in a front end and a chamber disposed in a rear end, and the pressure difference drives the turbine to drive the generator assembly. The transferring efficiency is high and the water in all the flow channels is in low pressure to prevent the water pipes from burst and leakage. The negative-pressure wave generator is simple in structure and solid, lowering the maintenance cost.

A floating platform generating energy produced from wave energy. In one embodiment, the platform may be used to support a roadway to build a floating bridge. The platform may also include a wave break mechanism for additional stability and may submerge for storm survival. The platform may be constructed in modules to permit reconfiguration and management of resources. In other embodiments, the platform may support communities. The bridge may also provide transmission lines for conducting wave generated electricity back to the mainland. In further embodiments, the platform may generate pressurized air from wave energy and may store the pressurized air at depth in a plurality of air tanks arranged in sequence at different depths.

Methods and systems are provided for nautical stationkeeping of free-floating objects. In one example, a method includes adjusting translational motion of a body freely floating in water by rotating the body. The translational motion may be adjusted, for instance, to maintain the body within a geographic area. In certain examples, the adjustment of the translational motion may be realized via a Magnus effect induced by rotating the body. The body may be configured as, for example, a free-floating object such as a wave engine.

A wave energy converter that has waveguides affixed radially around a compression chamber to form wave channels to amplify movement of the surface of the ocean in the compression chamber is positioned a distance above a first heave plate. A dock frame is affixed to the bottom of the first heave plate, with a second heave plate comprising ramps extending radially outward and downward from the dock frame, and lobes extending radially outward from the ramps, so that the lobes define V-shaped dock frame channels between the lobes and the ramps define dock frame slots between the ramps. Charging interfaces are provided at the dock frame slots configured to receive an electrically conductive portion of an autonomous underwater vehicle. The V-shaped dock frame channels guide the autonomous underwater vehicle towards and into the dock frame slots, so that the electrically conductive portion is received by a charging interface for charging and communicating with the autonomous underwater vehicle.

An underwater energy harvesting drone has a primary hull to be submersibly received in ocean water and a plurality of thermoelectric modules, each module of said plurality of thermoelectric modules having a first operational interface in thermal contact with the primary hull. A thermal transfer element is in contact with a second operational interface on the plurality of thermoelectric modules and an electrical power storage device is connected to the plurality of thermoelectric modules. Positioning of the submersible primary hull to create a thermal gradient between the primary hull and the thermal transfer element induces electrical power generation by the thermoelectric modules thereby charging the electrical power storage device.

Assemblies systems, and methods are disclosed for generating energy from natural forces and, more particularly, to energy generation using tidal action. A tidal energy conversion assembly includes a displacement vessel housing a directional converter that is coupled to an electrical power generator. The tidal energy conversion assembly further includes an anchor cable having a first end, a second end connected to the directional converter, and a length in between the first end and the second end. The anchor cable may be threaded through an anchor at a stationary location, such as a sea floor. The rising, falling, and/or drag forces of the tide cause a change in the length of the anchor cable thus exerting a force on the directional converter. The directional converter converts this force into rotational energy that may be harnessed by the electrical power generator to generate electricity for consumption.

A separable buoy includes a center float having a top surface that includes an upper peripheral end and an engagement bevel provided on the upper peripheral end that extends below the top surface; a separable float unit detachably disposed at the center float and including a dome wall that is provided in a lower central portion thereof and that has a peripheral edge configured to detachably engage the engagement bevel: and a chamber defined between the dome wall of the separable float unit and the top surface of the center float when the separable float unit engages the center float, wherein the center float has a vertical height that substantially equals or exceeds that of a lower portion of the separable float unit.

A power generation sailing ship has a sail provided on a deck, a water turbine connected to a front end of a shaft passing through a bow part outer hull and extending forward, a power generator disposed in a front body of the sailing ship and connected to a rear end of the shaft, and an energy storage device for directly storing electric energy generated by the power generator or converting the electric energy into energy of a substance and storing the substance.

An energy-harvesting compute grid includes computing assemblies that cooperate with mobile energy harvesters configured to be deployed on a body of water. The plurality of energy harvesters are positioned on and move adjacent to an upper surface of a body of water, and the locations of the energy harvesters can be monitored and controlled. The wide-spread gathering by the harvesters of environmental data within that geospatial area permits the forecasting of environmental factors, the discovery of advantageous energy-harvesting opportunities, the observation and tracking of hazardous objects and conditions, the efficient distribution of data and/or tasks to and between the harvesters included in the compute grid, the efficient execution of logistical operations to support, upgrade, maintain, and repair the cluster, and the opportunity to execute data-gathering across an area much larger than that afforded by an individual harvester (e.g., radio astronomy, 3D tracking of and recording of the communication patterns of marine mammals, etc.). The computational tasks can be shared and distributed among a compute grid implemented in part by a collection of individual floating self-propelled energy harvesters thereby providing many benefits related to cost and efficiency that are unavailable to relatively isolated energy harvesters, and likewise unavailable to terrestrial compute grids of the prior art.