Ocean Current Resource

Each of the major ocean systems contain what's commonly referred to as the western boundary current - or effectively a 'river in the ocean' as the term was first coined by Ben Franklin in 1772. This boundary current resides on the western side of each ocean basin and flows northward driven by Coriolis forces resulting from the Earth's rotation, and by temperature and salinity gradients that result in the northerly flow of warm water from the tropics. In the northern hemisphere, on the western side of the Atlantic ocean resides the Gulf Stream current that flows up the eastern seaboard of the United States. On the western side of the Pacific Ocean the Kuroshio ocean current flows northward up the east Asian coastline near Taiwan, China, Korea and Japan; and in the southern hemisphere, the Agulhas current flows southward on the western side of the Indian Ocean along the South African coast.

These ocean currents , and other likes them, represent moving streams of water 15 to 20 miles wide (much wider outside of the main 'core' current), 1,000 or more miles long, flowing consistently at speeds of 3 to 8 feet per second (1.0 to 2.5 meters per second) down to 650 feet (200 meters). The currents are nearly unidirectional with variations of less than 25 degrees from the well-defined "core centerline". The Gulf Stream alone transports more than 70 times the water moved by all the rivers in all the world. The western boundary currents are located offshore from some of the most densely populated and largest electrical load centers on the planet. While these ocean currents are some of the most researched aspects of the world's oceans, they have largely been overlooked as a consistent, reliable source of clean, renewable energy.

This ample kinetic energy proximate to major electrical load centers presents a significant opportunity to convert , harness, and deliver vast quantities of emissions free clean renewable energy to the areas that need it most. THOR is well positioned to deliver on this goal.