Study claims evaporation could provide 70 per cent of US energy

A new report from Columbia University has claimed that energy harvested from evaporation of water in US lakes and reservoirs could provide power for about 70 per cent of the country.

(Credit: Central Arizona Project)

Two years ago, the team behind the latest report published research detailing how evaporation could harness energy. Its ‘evaporation engine’ draws power from the expansion and contraction of bacterial spores in the presence of humidity. The spores are placed on plastic strips, and collectively these strips act like muscles, opening and closing a shutter to control humidity while also providing a continuous source of power.

"We have the technology to harness energy from wind, water and the sun, but evaporation is just as powerful," said Columbia biophysicist Ozgur Sahin, the study's senior author. "We can now put a number on its potential."