Weekly Intelligence Brief
Bi-weekly Intelligence Brief 10 June - 24 June
23 June 2010
Companies and organisations included in this news round-up include: Hydra Tidal, Research Council of Norway´s RENERGI programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), SGS Renewable Energy Services, Electricite de France Group (EDF), Nova Scotia Power, OpenHydro, Hyogo Prefecture, Nova Energy, Natural Currents Energy Services, City College of NY(CCNY) and the Electric Power Research Institute.
Hydra Tidal set to install floating plant prototype
Harstad-based Hydra Tidal, a tidal power plant developer, is now in the final phase of building the full scale prototype of Morild, a floating tidal power plant.
The Norwegian company anticipates a July deployment.
Hydra Tidal will install a full-scale (1.5-MW) prototype of its tidal energy plant at Gimsøystraumen, a marine channel in Nordland County.
The Morild floating power plant will be moored to the seabed and mostly submerged, with turbine wings spanning a diameter of 23 metres. However, its most unique feature is that its turbine blades are made of laminated pine.
Wood has not been used in modern turbine blade designs for decades. But company founder and R&D director Svein D. Henriksen jail source: justifies the material: “Wood is a porous, homogenous material — so it has better mechanical and hydrological characteristics than today’s conventional materials such as composites and steel.
“The major challenge is the actual assembly process, but we believe we have found a good solution.”
He points out that using wood in turbine blades is also an environmentally sound choice, especially in a lifecycle perspective.
Because the power plant is of significant size, the last components will have to be mounted outside the construction hall.
The turbine blades made out of wood are on their way to Harstad and will be ready for mounting in July.
After sea deployment, the plant will be tested by towing after a towing vessel and then be anchored in the Gimsøysund tidal current at Lofoten Islands. Here,
Morild will float in the ocean surface.
Later on it will be ballasted for diving just below the ocean surface.
Assembly, installation and maintenance are simpler for a floating facility than for one permanently anchored to the seabed.
The Morild power plant can be assembled on land and then towed to its operating location for installation. It can also be detached and floated to the surface for repair.
Hydra Tidal bags two research council funding packages
Hydra Tidal is receiving funding for two different projects under the Research Council of Norway´s RENERGI programme, according to a report by the Research Council of Norway.
One project is studying Morild’s wood components at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) laboratories in Trondheim and will verify the company’s findings.
The other project involves testing the effects of extreme environmental conditions on the entire Morild construction.
The primary objective is to examine, test and analyse how such conditions affect a floating facility for converting the energy of slow coastal currents, tidal streams and ocean currents.
The projects will culminate in a full-scale test in the water this month.
The costs of developing the concept have totalled roughly NOK 125 million over the last 10 years, funded primarily by a large number of industrial participants and investors.
SGS appointed marine engineer by EDF
SGS Renewable Energy Services, an inspection, verification, testing and certification consultancy for renewable projects, has been appointed to act as Owner’s Marine Engineer in the pilot project of the Electricite de France Group (EDF).
Aiming to test the technology in real-life conditions, EDF builds a tidal turbine farm to generate electricity from tidal energy.
Located approximately 6km offshore north-east of Paimpol, France, the Paimpol-Bréhat Tidal Project site is on some of the most powerful tidal currents in France.
SGS will be responsible for the technical assessment of the sub-sea cable specifications, procurement, and installation in the process of assisting the project owner to meet project objectives in terms of safety, costs, planning, operation and maintenance.
SGS will also carry out risk management and Occupational Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) support for the project.
OpenHydro and Novia Scotia Power to recover Bay of Fundy unit in autumn
Nova Scotia Power and its technology partner gave an update on their in-stream tidal turbine being tested in the Bay of Fundy in recent weeks.
It reported that an acoustic modem intended to allow data to be recovered from the turbine has not been functioning, so alternative measures have been used to monitor the turbine and to confirm it has remained in position.
Most recently, OpenHydro was able to capture limited video footage of the
turbine.
Preliminary analysis of the images by engineers has lead to the conclusion that the
turbine rotor may have been damaged.
As a result, Nova Scotia Power and OpenHydro have confirmed their intention to advance plans to recover the unit in the fall.
Following recovery, a detailed engineering analysis of the unit will provide valuable technical information about any damage, either related to the site conditions or
the turbine itself.
Planning is now under way to determine more specific timing which will include
consulting with Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) and its Environmental Monitoring Assessment Committee to ensure important environmental monitoring has been completed.
Following the completion of the engineering analysis, OpenHydro will review the design of the turbine and redeploy next year.
This will involve no additional costs for Nova Scotia Power
customers.
With the exception of turbine engineering & fabrication, the majority of the recovery
and re-deployment activities will be performed locally.
“The recovery itself is another project milestone. It will further our understanding of how the turbine has operated in this unique and challenging environment, bringing us closer to commercially developed tidal arrays in the Bay of Fundy,” said Peter Corcoran, Chief Financial Officer of OpenHydro.
“We see this as an opportunity to learn and adapt,” said Mark Savory, Vice President Technical and Construction Service, Nova Scotia Power. “We continue to accomplish the goals that were established for this demonstration project.”
Hyogo Prefecture set to install tidal generator in Akashi straight
Hyogo Prefecture--a start-up company has begun assembly of a tidal power generator that it plans to install in the Akashi Strait by the end of June, said an asahi.com report.
The generator consists of two underwater turbines, each capable of generating 10 kilowatts of electricity, according to Nova Energy Co.
The turbines, each 6 meters long and 3 meters wide, are tuna-shaped, a design apparently aimed at efficiently converting tidal water flows into electricity.
The clean-energy generator will be the first such facility to be put into practical use.
Nova Energy plans to develop a more powerful turbine that can generate 500 kilowatts and a large-scale generation facility consisting of multiple turbines, the report said.
US tidal start-up to set up demonstration turbine
A small start-up firm, Natural Currents Energy Services, is teaming up with City College of NY(CCNY) to find the best sites in the coastal waters of New Jersey to place the turbines, two of which are slated for later this year on the Manasquan River, according to a MSNBC.com report
Natural Currents will place a demonstration turbine this summer on the Shrewsbury right below the Route 36 bridge in Highlands, according to company president and founder Roger Bason.
Natural Currents holds Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) tidal energy development permits at 10 sites through the US, with a power potential of 1,000 megawatts (4 terawatt hours annually).
This represents approximately 20 - 25% of the total tidal zone permits granted to date by FERC, according to the start-up.
Additional preliminary permit and license applications are pending.
The value of these sites is significantly improved through permitting and negotiation of related power purchase agreements.
Study says 8 sites could be constructed in Bay of Fundy
An international study on tidal power has identified eight possible sites in the Bay of Fundy where ocean generators could be constructed.
According to an Ocean Resources report, New Brunswick Energy Minister Brenda Fowlie said the most promising site would be at Cape Enrage on the province's south coast, where powerful ocean currents could generate as much as 30 megawatts of power.
According to the report, Ms. Fowlie said it is too early for the province to commit to a tidal power project, but she said the government will encourage demonstration projects and possible commercial developments.
New Brunswick is one of seven North American jurisdictions taking part in a landmark study on tidal power by the Electric Power Research Institute, an independent, non-profit centre for electricity and environmental research based in California.
The institute's tidal-power feasibility study involves the governments of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, Massachusetts, Alaska, Washington and California – all coastal states hungry for new energy sources.
