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3. The resultsDuring the first two months we came up with a conceptual idea and we were given thechange to develop it little bit further. One of our main goals was to contact the parties thathad shown interest during the first months and to make the connection between them,make them talk and discuss the possibilities, feasibility and the conditions under which theywill cooperate and work with each other.Finding the right people which will be interested and responsible for the futuredevelopment and cooperation was one of the main challenges that we faced. We found outthat once we reached these people, talked with them and introduced them to our visionthey were quite open to it. It was normal to see that there were differences between thepeople (and the organizations behind them) but at the end they had more or less the samegoal – saving energy, cost reductions, being environmentally friendly and at the same timeto adapt to upcoming climate change – but in different ways. By showing them that theirdifferences could be put aside and there were opportunities to work together to furtherthese goals, we already made one big step forward.It is one thing when people talk with us and through us, and another when they actually talkto each other. Therefore, we decided to put everybody in one room in an informal situationand just talk and discuss. We achieved this with two round table meetings: on the 20thJanuary at Rijkswaterstaat Haarlem and on the 21st in the LEF Future center in. At thesemeetings, people were able to talk openly and freely about their opinions, ideas andachievements without being pressured to commit to anything formal.3.1 Blue Energy – status of developmentThe last three months of our work enriched our knowledge on blue energy considerably. Notonly we were invited to see the pilot of the blue energy in Harlingen but also, REDstackprovided us with loads of information and studies that have been done in the blue energytechnology. Our main focus in the last three months was to examine what the status of thedevelopment is, how feasible and environmentally friendly the technology is and what thepossibilities of implementing it at the Noordzeekanaal are. The summary below should give aclearer picture of the current developments.In general the challenges that the producer focuses on are costs and pre-treatmentimprovements.3.1.1. MembranesThe life expectancy of the membrane is eight years. From the technological point of view,the developed membranes respond to the requirements for generating energy sufficiently;however, their costs are very high and in market terms - not affordable. Experts say that theprice per m² is likely to fall if:1. Market share of membranes increase.2. The economies of scale are achieved.3. The production capabilities of the membranes increase.9
These issues close the cycle: even if the market share for membranes increase, theproduction capabilities might not be satisfying the demands that the market has risen andthe economies of scale will not be achieved. Therefore, production improvements andcommercialization are required.3.1.2. Pre-treatmentThere is a new technology for pre-treatment is still under development. The problem thatthe REDstack is facing is the lack of information on the water quality required for the stacks.The new developments regarding this issue are based on assumptions; therefore every newtechnology must be tested on existing plants. The newest development for the pretreatmentis the drum filter. The basic idea behind this technology is that the filters, placedvertically, rotates. Through gravitation, the water entering the drum flows through the filtercausing the dirt to be tripped out. For more specific technical information regarding this typeof pre-treatment, see (Ref. 5.1).3.1.3 PilotsHarlingen, Frisia Zout. This pilot is managed by REDstack and financially supported bySenterNovem. The pilot has started in 2008 and due to technical problems it was kept onhold till the beginning of 2010. The main reason for this hold back was the trial-errorinstallation. The pilot was the first ‘out of laboratory’ example, therefore they did not alwayshave the right equipment, there were construction problems, et cetera. The advantage ofthe pilot at the salt factory is the fact that the fresh water that is being used is relativelyclean, which saves the costs of pre-treatment. Additionally, the availability of salt makes itpossible to experiment with the salt concentration of the salt water, increasing the powerproduction output. The price of the Harlingen pilot came to about €1,000,000.In February 2010 the team managing the pilot in Harlingen is going to test the drum filteringtechnology.Pilot in Norway by Statkraft, however, using different technique (Pressure RetardedOsmosis); Capacity of generating 10 kW.Afsluitdijk. A letter of intent has been signed by REDstack, Rijkswaterstaat, Noord-HollandProvince, Wetsus and others, to construct a pilot at Afsluitdijk capable of producing 20 to50 kW. The project has been planned in years 2010-2012. Since October 2009, RoyalHaskoning has been busy obtaining permits. The actual building should start around January2011. It is expected that by 2018 the power plant at Afsluitdijk would be capable ofproducing 200MW. Because of its size, the pilot on Afsluitdijk is going to come up to theprice of €4,000,000.Quite an issue at Afsluitdijk at this moment is the environmental considerations concerningfish: every time the locks open up tons of fish dies of the shock caused by differences in saltconcentration between salt and fresh water. The brackish water from blue energy wouldcreate a bridge for the fish, to adjust to the new environment.10
Page 1 and 2: Creating opportunities to adapt to
Page 3 and 4: 1. IntroductionThis project started
Page 5 and 6: 2.2 The two main chains2.2.1 BE In
Page 7 and 8: We have got the commitment of Wagen
Page 9: which in turn leads to more efficie
Page 13 and 14: This leads us to the topic of discu
Page 15 and 16: the public? Maybe this is the futur
Page 17 and 18: The problem in this case stems from
Page 19 and 20: 4. The next stepsIn this report, we
Page 21 and 22: 4.1.3 Thoughts on cooperationClearl
Page 23 and 24: 4.2.2 Policy makersThe 'lower level
Page 25 and 26: & Gill BV have came up with e new b
Page 27 and 28: AGV is also working on a system (CA
Page 29 and 30: Hoogheemraadschap De Stichtse Rijnl
Page 31 and 32: Erik Stapper, RWS Noord-Holland, 'P
Page 33 and 34: Frans van de Ven - Prof TUdelftEmai
Page 35 and 36: Peter Hoogervorste-mail: hoogervors

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