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WORLD ENERGY [R]EVOLUTION
A SUSTAINABLE ENERGY OUTLOOK
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energy technologies | RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES
ocean energy
tidal power Tidal power can be harnessed by constructing a dam
or barrage across an estuary or bay with a tidal range of at least
five metres. Gates in the barrage allow the incoming tide to build up
in a basin behind it. The gates then close so that when the tide flows
out the water can be channelled through turbines to generate
electricity. Tidal barrages have been built across estuaries in
France, Canada and China but a mixture of high cost projections
coupled with environmental objections to the effect on estuarial
habitats has limited the technology’s further expansion.
wave and tidal stream power In wave power generation, a
structure interacts with the incoming waves, converting this energy
to electricity through a hydraulic, mechanical or pneumatic power
take-off system. The structure is kept in position by a mooring
system or placed directly on the seabed/seashore. Power is
transmitted to the seabed by a flexible submerged electrical cable
and to shore by a sub-sea cable.
In tidal stream generation, a machine similar to a wind turbine
rotor is fitted underwater to a column fixed to the sea bed; the
rotor then rotates to generate electricity from fast-moving currents.
300 kW prototypes are in operation in the UK.
Wave power converters can be made up from connected groups of
smaller generator units of 100 – 500 kW, or several mechanical or
hydraulically interconnected modules can supply a single larger
turbine generator unit of 2 – 20 MW. The large waves needed to
make the technology more cost effective are mostly found at great
distances from the shore, however, requiring costly sub-sea cables to
transmit the power. The converters themselves also take up large
amounts of space. Wave power has the advantage of providing a
more predictable supply than wind energy and can be located in the
ocean without much visual intrusion.
There is no commercially leading technology on wave power
conversion at present. Different systems are being developed at sea
for prototype testing. The largest grid-connected system installed so
far is the 2.25 MW Pelamis, with linked semi-submerged
cyclindrical sections, operating off the coast of Portugal. Most
development work has been carried out in the UK.
Wave energy systems can be divided into three groups, described below.
• shoreline devices are fixed to the coast or embedded in the
shoreline, with the advantage of easier installation and
maintenance. They also do not require deep-water moorings or
long lengths of underwater electrical cable. The disadvantage is
that they experience a much less powerful wave regime. The most
advanced type of shoreline device is the oscillating water column
(OWC). One example is the Pico plant, a 400 kW rated shoreline
OWC equipped with a Wells turbine constructed in the 1990s.
Another system that can be integrated into a breakwater is the
Seawave Slot-Cone converter.
• near shore devices are deployed at moderate water depths (~20-
25 m) at distances up to ~500 m from the shore. They have the
same advantages as shoreline devices but are exposed to stronger,
more productive waves. These include ‘point absorber systems’.
• offshore devices exploit the more powerful wave regimes available
in deep water (>25 m depth). More recent designs for offshore
devices concentrate on small, modular devices, yielding high power
output when deployed in arrays. One example is the AquaBuOY
system, a freely floating heaving point absorber system that reacts
against a submersed tube, filled with water. Another example is the
Wave Dragon, which uses a wave reflector design to focus the wave
towards a ramp and fill a higher-level reservoir.
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© USCHI HERING/DREAMSTIME
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© MCDONNELL/ISTOCK
© MAXFX/DREAMSTIME
images 1. BIOMASS CROPS. 2. OCEAN ENERGY. 3. CONCENTRATING SOLAR POWER (CSP).
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