Making waves: Shetland tidal power breakthrough is another world first for Scotland
Martin Hannan for The National: HOUSEHOLDERS on the Shetland Isles were not aware of it, but when they plugged in their kettles recently, they were sharing in a bit of history.
For the Shetland Tidal Array at Bluemull Sound, installed by Nova Innovation of Edinburgh, has become the world’s first tidal power array to be connected to a grid and deliver power on a commercial basis – to dozens of homes on the islands.
The achievement has been hailed by environmentalists and the renewable industry as a turning point in the development of marine power.
Nova had shown its technology could work with a single turbine which generated electricity in March. But the installation of second turbine that is also working to the grid proves that large tidal power arrays can and do work. Commercially viable tidal power is seen as something of a Holy Grail by the industry, since it is one of the few renewable energy sources that is entirely predictable – as one industry source once put it: “there will be tidal power available as long as the moon is in the sky”. Cont'd...
NOVA INNOVATION DEPLOYS WORLD'S FIRST FULLY OPERATIONAL OFFSHORE TIDAL ARRAY IN SCOTLAND
The second in a series of three 100 kW turbines was deployed alongside the first turbine in August 2016, making this the first offshore tidal array in the world to deliver electricity to the grid.
Nova's success heralds a new era for tidal energy as a long-term source of predictable renewable power (unlike other forms of renewable energy).
11th Annual Ocean Renewable Energy Conference Embarks on Second Decade of Leadership, Experience, and Solutions
OREC XI Set for Portland, Oregon September 21 and 22, 2016
PTEC, A WORLD LEADING TIDAL POWER PROJECT, RECEIVES APPROVAL
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has today granted its approval of the offshore elements of PTEC, a transformational 30MW tidal power project. The onshore part of the project was approved by the local planning authority last year. PTEC is now the largest consented tidal stream energy project in England and Wales.
This Device Could Provide a Third of America's Power
Sam Grobart for Bloomberg: There are 332,519,000 cubic miles of water on the planet. That's 352,670,000,000,000,000,000 gallons just sloshing around out there.
Anyone who's ridden or been tossed by a wave has a sense of the kinetic energy contained in our perpetually moving oceans. If we could harness it, it could provide a clean, renewable source of energy. But efforts to turn our oceans into power generators—often in the form of "aqua-mills," windmill technology adapted to water—have foundered on the complexity of their many moving parts in the corrosive and remote environs of the sea.
A new approach, developed by a company called Oscilla Power, applies all that kinetic energy to a solid piece of metal instead of using it to turn the blades of an impeller. That creates an alternating magnetic polarity in the metal that can be converted into electrical current.
Oscilla's technology, which is nearly solid-state, may prove far more durable than any other ocean-power project, increasing the chance to draw power from our oceans cleanly, meaningfully, and endlessly. View video here:
Minesto orders turbine prototype from SCHOTTEL HYDRO
The Swedish marine energy company has now placed an order for a prototype of the turbine, with delivery in early 2017.
EFFECTS OF MARINE ENERGY ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Although marine powers damage to the environment is significantly less than its energy counterparts, the possible affects to existing ecosystems must be considered.
A Wave of Excitement for UK Marine Energy Industry
Currently the UK is seen as the leader for the development of marine energy technologies. Around 10MW of wave and tidal stream devices are being tested in UK waters, more than the rest of the world combined.
Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. Announces APB350 (A1) PowerBuoy Achieves Significant Performance Milestones
Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:OPTT) today announced that its APB350 (A1) PowerBuoy® has achieved several significant milestones. Total cumulative deployment time has exceeded 125 days and energy generated has surpassed 1,000 kWh (1MWh).
Eco Wave Power Receives EU Funding Approval for Wave Energy Power Plant in Gibraltar
An Announcement made by EWP earlier today confirms a European Union grant for Eco Wave Power's wave energy Project in Gibraltar.
Tidal power: An inside look at how it works
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From EnergyDigital: Tidal power, a sister resource to wind, takes advantage of the predictability of the ocean tides to generate electricity, either via estuary barges or directly from the currents themselves via tidal streams. According to the Ocean Energy Council, the ideal area to net the most potential power is an area with a tidal range of at least seven meters. Energy can be generated via floating devices that drive hydraulic pumps, oscillating water columns within cylindrical shafts to create air movement, or hydropower turbines.
The Pacific Northwest coast of the United States is an excellent location for tidal power, given its broad range of tide movement. According to Renewable Northwest, some areas of potential development include:
• Makah Bay, Washington (by AquaEnergy Group)
• Newport, Oregon (by Oregon State University / Oregon Department of Energy)
• Tacoma Narrows (by Tacoma Power)
• Puget Sound (by Snohomish County Public Utility District)
The following sites are under development in Wales due to their wide tidal height variation and economically receptive marketplace:
• Swansea Bay (by Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay)
• St. Asaph (by North Wales Tidal Energy & Costal Protection)
As a whole, the UK has the potential for over 11,000 MW, a staggering amount given the relatively small landmass of the country. This makes it the single largest source of hydrokinetic power in Europe, enough theoretically support 10 percent of the world’s energy consumption. Cont'd...
How a Manmade Tidal Lagoon Could Change the Future of Clean Energy
FEARGUS O'SULLIVAN for CityLab: Just outside the Welsh city of Swansea, the U.K. is planning one of the most innovative power plants ever constructed. It’s not the plant’s size that is striking, though it could ultimately provide power to 155,000 homes for 120 years. It’s the source of its power that breaks ground: tides channeled into an artificially constructed lagoon.
Granted full planning permission this June, the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon will be the world’s first ever plant to generate electricity using this method. Should it prove successful, the plant’s template could be adopted worldwide as a way of generating green power while simultaneously providing sea wall protection to coastal communities. Cont'd...
Natural Power and SeaRoc collaborate for EDF's Paimpol-Br©hat Tidal Farm
The two companies have joined forces and been awarded a contract by EDF France to develop the Paimpol-Brehat Tidal Farm.
How floating turbines could harness the awesome power of the tides
Ross Jennings for The Conversation: The world’s tides contain enough energy to power the entire UK’s electricity consumption. And, since it effectively harnesses the moon’s constant and predictable gravitational pull, tidal power overcomes one of renewable energy’s classic problems – the fact you never know quite how much sun, wind or rain to expect. Now, underwater windmills positioned just below the ocean surface could be a major breakthrough for tidal power.
Costly technology and inaccessible locations have thus far held things back. Large, heavy and expensive turbines mounted on the seabed have been developed, but these are aimed at commercial scale developments. Tidal power needs its equivalent of the rooftop solar panel.
Imagine then a wind turbine, but underwater, and not fixed to the seabed – these so-called “mobile floating turbines” are a cheaper and more adaptable alternative to big, fixed developments. Most floating turbines look something like this: Cont'd...
Eco Wave Power Raises 2 Million USD in First Round of Fundraising
"This new investment is a vote of confidence in Eco Wave Power's technology, our team, and the global market potential of onshore wave energy."
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