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Alternative Energy Production - Tidal / Wave etc.


mgb2010
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(** MOD EDIT ** This thread is now a merged topic of posts from the Windfarm thread with the previously titled "Shetland's Green Energy Future" by greenheatman to the above to better reflect the differing technologies.)

 

Interesting to see in the current issue of Professional Engineering magazine (a publication from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers) three tidal power generators are being installed off the coast of Alderney. These are "mounted on the seabed 40m down and 3km offshore. No part of the structure will be visible from the surface and they will be deep enough not to interfere with shipping traffic".

The picture in the article shows a neat looking installation and are currently rated at 250kw each and states that "similar turbines could be scaled up to produce between 1MW-3MW output". The development, once complete, will be around 3GW comprising "hundreds of turbines".

 

Looks like there are other viable options out there (and from UK companies) that could produce the energy without impacting upon our landscape.

Has anyone undertaken a review of all the options available to Shetland? If so, where can we have a look at the report?

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Here you find some info about the open-centre turbine they are still testing at the EMEC site in Eday Sound / Orkney although the company OpenHydro has just recently signed two commercial contracts for tidal turbine developments with Alderney Renewables and Nova Scotia Power.

 

http://www.emec.org.uk/view.asp?newsID=25

A link to the OpenHydro website with more details is at the bottom of the EMEC site.

 

Note: The turbine in Orkney has been installed between a twin monopile structure enabling the unit to be raised and lowered for demonstration. This structure will allow OpenHydro to test future generations of the OCT at minimal cost. Turbines in energy generating "farms" will be placed directly on the seabed - with no installations above sealevel.

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The issue with tidal power is that it still requires an interconnnector. The cost of which and most importantly the crown Estate seabed lease costs are unknown.

 

Sadly it will be far more expensive to have tidal generators in Shetland waters as opposed to say the Pentland Firth etc where the tides are greater, and transmission costs lower.

 

Viking energy I fear is not wholly thought out. Why Shetland Aerogenerators Ltd are given a 10% share is beyond me, why can they not extend their own farm, or develop the proposed farm at Cunningsburgh instead?

 

Can I have a 10% share too please, Mr Ratter?

 

I suspect all is not clear on that front - is that a rat I smell or have I burnt the tea!

 

Far better I would have thought to have several smaller well thought out privately owned renewable businesses spread through the Isles, than a huge sprawling SIC enterprise. Private enterprise will always be a better solution.

 

To me the only way we will be able to expand renewables in this perfect location is to be able to harness and contain the produced power rather than export it through a half billion pound cable. If we had £500 million research budget instead, I am sure someone would come up with a solution, and our Islands would be completely powered from stored energy.

 

In addition, there would not be nuclear generated kilowatt in sight when the winds are not blowing and we are importing electricity back up the same interconnector!

 

Who will need a diesel power station in Lerwick now? I am sure it can be closed down! 50 jobs gained in the Lang Kames and 50 jobs lost in the power station. Sounds like employment decentralisation not job creation

 

Whoops was that another Viking Energy secret!

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Correction to the above - not tidal barrages, but more of a marine turbine type of affair.

 

http://www.marineturbines.com/technical.htm

 

I would far rather see this type of development than the windfarm.

 

Won't this kill fish, erode the sea bed whilst disrupting with a major shetland industry (fishing) and cost a fortune??? :D

 

No, but seriously, it looks pretty good. Problem is that there's no reason why these couldn't be installed else besides Shetland, without the cost of the an interconnecter. A Shetland based windfarm will, however, be far more effiecient than on the mainland and therefore worth the investment.

 

Once we get ourselves a cable from the windfarm to the mainland we could expand into all these other energy production methods.

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Once we get ourselves a cable from the windfarm to the mainland we could expand into all these other energy production methods.

See it from the other side ;-):

More or less profitable industries (wind) will get less public funding due to the shortage of available public money from Scottish Executive, Westminster or the EU while investments into the "future" might get the money.

 

Under the financially actual worsening conditions you have to redefine "investment" as "research" to get the money you want. The oil and nuclear businesses used these mechanisms for decades but curiously the wind business is obviously and after some positive effects in the initial stage not trusting in this lessons. ;-) They are still argueing we want the public investment into infrastructure at first and before we decide whether or not the wind based technology is outdated when the infrastructure is built.

 

We should be happy to see that not all the chaps in Brussels or elsewhere are idiots ... ;-)

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Correction to the above - not tidal barrages, but more of a marine turbine type of affair.

 

http://www.marineturbines.com/technical.htm

 

I would far rather see this type of development than the windfarm.

 

Won't this kill fish, erode the sea bed whilst disrupting with a major shetland industry (fishing) and cost a fortune??? :D

 

No, but seriously, it looks pretty good. Problem is that there's no reason why these couldn't be installed else besides Shetland, without the cost of the an interconnecter. A Shetland based windfarm will, however, be far more effiecient than on the mainland and therefore worth the investment.

 

Once we get ourselves a cable from the windfarm to the mainland we could expand into all these other energy production methods.

 

Kill fish? Nah, I can envisage way into the future when fish have evolved into more intelligent creatures and they're saying "Right lads, here's some of these twirly things - we're safe here :D " <-- fish smiley

Erode the sea bed? Nah, we'd be putting bloody big lumps of concrete on it to support the twirly things.

Disrupt a major industry? Nah,plenty more fish in the sea - they'd just have to go for the thick ones.

Cost a fortune? Probably.

 

Not sure where I stand on the interconnector idea - good if it's gonna mean jobs and ££ for Shetland but at the expense of the environment.....hmmmm, needs more thought.

 

I still think this is worth investigating - i.e. how many would we need, where could they go, what would be the environmental/economic implications etc.

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Hmm, yet to be convinced by the wavepower machines, or rather that they won't be smashed to pieces sooner rather than later. Winter storm waves around Shetland potentially could supply more power than we are ever going to need, but they are also very destructive. Plus, waves are a result of wind, which is not reliable (even if it is twice as reliable in Shetland than elsewhere!) Tidal is the best prospect IMO.

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This is getting more like what I had in mind This kinda thing .

 

Hopefully someone will have at least investigated the possibility of this for wis?

 

The inventor of Gentec did a Shetland roadshow either last year or perhaps 2005. He struck me as a typical "nutty professor" type guy, but that is not to say that his machines and calculations are no good. He had a long running exchange of letters with David Thomson which is likely still archived on the "Shetland News" site. That ended abruptly when DT produced the figures for Burradale which proved what a windy place Shetland was, although there was a letter from Andrew Mackay recently offering to make Shetland the richest community in the world from Gentec...

http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/pages/Letters/letter_why_not_try_an_alternative.htm

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Like many people I would prefer the tidal method but the general concensus among people in the know is that it's not ready.

 

It comes down to a question of trust. Why should we trust this guy when the rest of the renewable energy community says renewable tidal energy technology still needs to come on.

 

I guess there's no harm in investigating more fully Andrew Mackay's claims. But I can't help but feel slightly prejudiced against him when he makes his plea for the SIC to pay for his boat-fare to Shetland! It doesn't inspire confidence in Mr Mackay - do you have a penny to your name, sir? - and it's almost as if he's trying to take advantage of the SIC's infamous carelessness when it comes to handing out cash to all and sundry.

 

I think Andrew Mackay should prove to the people of Shetland his scheme works first, get private backing to set it up and if it does then get round the table with the powers that be. That's what the windmill people have done.

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