Independent Natural Resources, Inc. or INRI is an American IP holding company based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. It formed Renew Blue in Dallas as a wholly owned subsidiary charged with licensing the SEADOG pump.[1]
The SEADOG Pump is an ocean-wave energy technology patented by Independent Natural Resources Inc. (INRI) and invented by Kenneth W. Welch, Jr.[2] The pump rises and falls with ocean swells, effectively capturing the energy in the ocean waves, to pump seawater to a land-based elevated holding tank. Once in the tank, the potential energy of the water can be used to drive hydroelectric generators, to generate electricity or desalinate water.[3][4][5]
The technology was tested in the Gulf of Mexico with results validated by Texas A&M University at Galveston.[6] The SEADOG Pump's manufacturer estimates that "a square-mile field of pumps could generate 50 to 1,500 megawatts of electricity – depending on the size and frequency of waves."[7]
The company's technology has been shown in energy conferences, including the Gulf Coast Innovation Conference & Showcase and the Energy and Clean Technology Venture Forum. It has had features in the Star Tribune,[8] the Houston Business Journal, the Houston Chronicle and Popular Mechanics.[9]
INRI ceased operations in 2010 and gone through bankruptcy and liquidation.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2009/11/02/story5.html
- ^ PRNewswire, Ocean Waves - Holding Potential to Meet World's Energy Needs - Can be Effectively Harnessed Through New Wave-Pump Technology, 08 06, 2007
- ^ Fowler, Tom (9 October 2009). "Firm to Tap Power of Gulf Waves". Houston Chronicle.
- ^ Trimble, Tyghe (23 October 2009). "Wave Power Desalination Plant Coming Soon to Texas". Popular Mechanics.Archived 2 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "New Wave-Pump Technology Hits the Water". RenewableEnergyWorld.com. 22 February 2007.
- ^ "WAVE Power Device Shows Promise". SeaDiscovery.com.
- ^ Childs, Dana (16 February 2007). "New ocean power company testing in Gulf of Mexico". Cleantech Group. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- ^ Neal St. Anthony, "Company harnesses the power of the sea, 17 February 2007
- ^ Tyghe Trimble, Wave Power Desalination Plant Coming Soon to Texas, 10/23/09, http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4334777.html Archived 2 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine