By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-11-13 06:30
$4 billion investment required
Ocean power is still a minor in the renewable energy sector. It consists mainly of wave power and tidal stream power, and both technologies have only just embarked on their first commercial projects. Today, less than 10 MW of ocean power capacity has been installed. However, according to a report by Greentech Media and the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development, this technology could reach 1 GW of installed capacity and grid parity within six years from now.
Such progression would require $2 billion of investment in research, design and development and another $2 billion in commercial production and installation. Compare those figures with the $500 million investment made between 2001 and 2007.
How this technology will develop in the next few years depends greatly on the investment climate and the willingness of the power sector to buy in to these type of projects. These, in turn, depend on the readiness of governments to create dedicated policies and incentives for this sector.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-09-11 05:30
1.2 MW plant installed off the coast of Northern Ireland
A new type of renewable energy has been connected to the European grid: tidal energy turbines. The SeaGen Tidal System has been installed in the Strangford Narrows, about 400 metres off the coast of Northern Ireland, by Marine Current Turbines Ltd (MCT). The installation was completed last April and the generators were successfully connected to the grid on 17th July. It produces 1.2 MW of power, operating 18 to 20 hours a day. The total manufacturing and installation cost was nearly £10 million.
Like a wind turbine, but more predictable
The Seagen Tidal System consists of a fixed structure bearing two 16m diameter axial flow rotors, each connected to a generator via a gearbox. In contrast with other existing tidal power plants — such as the one on the Rance in France — this system does not require a barrage closing in an estuary. It is sited offshore on a large piling.
The technology is similar in many respects to a wind turbine. However, its principle advantage compared to most other renewable sources is that tidal energy is entirely predictable. In addition, its visual impact is much smaller since it is almost entirely submerged. The slow rotation speed (10 to 15 revolutions per minute) is unlikely to pose a threat to either fish or marine mammals.
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Renewable Energy Systems
By Fernando Nuno / Published on Thu, 2008-04-24 02:28
Shortening the way to grid parity
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By David Schmetterer / Published on Tue, 2007-03-27 22:11
Just as it seems like solar is about to turn the corner, wind power technology is out of its adolescence, and even Biodiesel has its own day (March 18th, Rudolf Diesel's Birthday), there isn't much left to do but twiddle our thumbs and wait around for these technologies to be refined and adopted. The people at Verdant power have other ideas. They have developed riverine, or tidal, 'kinetic' hydropower. It requires no damming or redirection of water, and uses relatively small slow spinning turbines which resemble wind turbines. They are currently testing it in New York City's East River, powering a parking garage and a supermarket on Roosevelt Island. The technology is clean, out of sight, and the New York State Energy and Research Authority (NYSERDA) has identified over a Gigawatt (1,000 Megawatts) of potential capacity in the state. California has identified over 1.5 Gigawatts of potential (put into perspective, 1 GW is enough power to run approximately 1 million homes).
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2007-01-11 08:30
Potential contribution to the energy mix still unknown
There is a growing consensus as to the degree renewable energy sources will be able to contribute to the energy mix in the next 20 years. However there is one element that may be underestimated; the power of the oceans.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Tue, 2007-01-09 08:30
Gaining public acceptance for climate change mitigation efforts
At present, we do not have a proven tool that quantifies the environmental impact of various electricity generation systems. And without it, we cannot take well-founded decisions concerning our energy future. That is one of the conclusions in the paper Environmental Effects of Electricity Generation by The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) . Current discussions about the Severn barrage and the construction of a wind park on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland (see article in the Sunday Times) illustrate in practice how urgently such a tool is needed.
These cases also show that such a decision tool alone will not be enough to guarantee that we are taking the best available measures to mitigate climate change. There is also a need for a European structure in which such a decision tool can be applied.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Wed, 2006-12-20 03:00
Balancing local and global arguments
The debate over the construction of a tidal barrage in the Severn Estuary between England and Wales is a textbook example on how difficult it can sometimes be to balance local and global environmental issues.
The Severn Estuary, located between the English city of Bristol and the Welsh city of Cardiff, has the second largest tidal range in the world — about 15 metres. It is exceeded only by the Bay of Fundy in Canada. This makes it the ideal place to build a tidal barrage for generating electricity. A 16 kilometre barrier between Brean Down (England) and Lavernock Point (Wales) could have a massive capacity of 8,640 MW during flow, or 2,000 MW on average. This is 5% of the UK’s projected energy needs by 2020.
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