Protecting the ocean algae farms in hurricanes

My original goal, after a few algae break thoughts, was to have huge algae farms floating in plastic bags along the gulf coast. Using passive filtering techniques, and some inut energy, the ideea was to gety the CO2 from surface ocean, and other nutrients, and flow algae populations through large float, sterile plastic bags.

Then the hurricane problem. So now my plan is modified.  When the hurricane threatens, shut it down and roll the bags up onto an underwater roller, anchored to the ocean floor. The bags are held firm in calmer under ocean depths.

The key to bags is a newer strain of algae, more productive. But we don't need high energy bioreactor with conventions costs, we get any light directly, algae tuned to the sun. The new algae strain need be about twice the natural stuff and able to generate lipids. The gulf coast is about ten five percent? of US land mass, a potentially lucrative industry if we get the algae strains and passive fileering needed.

We end up with aqua farming, just substitute tug for tractor. The game is all about maintaining the bags, keeping them clean, keep the pumps going, tugging bags around, placing bags.  Farmers can do it, if they have the algae strain. They can build platforms, all of this over the shallow coastal zone, pump lipids back to shore.

NASA has developed a system capable of growing large amounts of algae for biofuel production within a network of floating plastic bags, an innovation its developers say could ultimately produce a new fuel source. By pumping wastewater and carbon dioxide into four nine-meter plastic bags at a demonstration plant in California, researchers have shown that the system can grow enough algae to produce nearly 2,000 gallons of fuel per year under ideal conditions, according to a report in MIT’s Technology Review. 

We need CO2 extractors, a way to pump ocean water through filters and get more concentrated CO2 water.   Much of this depends upon low energy filtering of the natural ocean water,  get fertilizer from it too if possible, or we pump fertilizer out to the farm.

Land is cheap along the gulf coast in protected aqua farming zones. So input energy is relatively cheap solar. Inefficient, but passive and low capital costs; thus it has long term depreciation, just replace the plastic components now and them. Best bet and this is geoengineering, as was much of the land farming in the west and road building along the east and tree farming in the north.

Ocean solar panels

The natural comparison are ocean solar panels, they float and roll up for hurricanes and deliver juice by the wire.  Ocean solar is still the most efficient fuel deliver to the coast. But after the coast, liquid biofuels wins the battle.  If ocean is plenty, and capital costs low, then over the longest horizon we should be pushing the ocean biofuels.  But delivering ocean solar electric to shore still wins a a large chunk of the energy market, up to the point where long term lithium cost more than existing pipelines. No one is using electric bulldozers, for example, isn't happening, even today we be better off using the solar to generate biodiesel for the tractors.