12.23
In Norway, the answer is $7 to $8 million, as that is the cost of the new osmotic power plant that they opened there. Giving only 4 kilowatts of power this multi million dollar plant would just about cover the energy requirements for one family. Hopefully they are able to make these plants a whole lot more powerful, as I for one, don’t have the millions sitting around to buy a power plant…
Just as technological innovations made Hywind and Snovhit possible, advancements in membrane technology have vastly increased the efficiency, as well as lowered the cost, of osmotic power. The Tofte plant cost between $7 million and $8 million, not too shabby for a power plant if, of course, it can offer more than just a pot of coffee. One quick solution: implement osmotic plants near desalination facilities, which produce a briny water twice as salty as seawater as a byproduct.
Double the osmotic pressure potential, and suddenly we’re up to two coffee makers. Slowly but surely, progress is made. ~via PopSci