2 replies to this topic

[Shortpoet-GTD]

"Siemens is paying an undisclosed sum to double its stake in Marine Current Turbines (MCT) to 90%, according to Bloomberg.
The German engineering firm expects to complete the deal in the “coming few weeks”.

Founded in 1999, UK-based MCT’S 1.2MW SeaGen tidal turbine is similar to a wind turbine.
The technology uses rotor blades which can rotate 180 degrees, enabling them to turn with the current and optimally track the direction and speed of tidal flow.
Siemens, which upped its stake from 10% to 45% in November, plans to continue the commercialisation of the technology and will integrate the business into its environmental portfolio."

http://cleantech.str...sl=rYmmC7U6oHca
Related postings-companies embracing renewables.
"The Scottish government is making GBP6m (USD9.5m) in funding available to test prototype wave and tidal power devices in the seas around the country."
http://cleantech.str..._tidal_power_rd
"Toshiba and Mitsui are creating a joint venture with IHI Group to develop a joint tidal power venture, looking to harness the powerful Kuroshio current off the coast of Japan.
The firms say that they are designing large-scale ocean power plants as part of a consortium with the University of Tokyo and hope to commercialise a product by 2020."
http://cleantech.str...for_tidal_power

[jasserEnv]

I am not sure why there is so much interest in tidal power as it imposes significant challenges due to its low frequency and the need to store the power for when it is needed. I would think that technologies using wave motion or wind power would be far more sound investments. The only tidal systems I know of that are worth their investment are types of dams that collect the water at high tide. These are eye sores and environmentally bad so have not been used in more than a few locations.

[E3 wise]

The particular technology being used in this case is well suited for placement in underwater areas where the currents are predictable and dependant, such as the Gulf Stream and other areas.  Because of their ability to rotate they can take full advantage of tidal changes to maximize power production.  Finally because of their modular design production costs will be greatly cheaper than other more complicated designs.

The world’s oceans are the largest untapped provider of clean, dependable energy on our planet.  Because cites are growing faster on the coasts than in the interior, these type of projects provide a way to deal with the regional growth without taking up costly coastal lands for more power plants.

My personal prediction is that in the next ten to twenty years many more of these instillations will be used for near shore areas, these types of instillations will provide energy that is unseen because of its underwater location, (1 to 5 miles) off shore with large off shore wind farm facilities continuing to dominate the (10 to 20) mile off shore areas.  For both instillations in protected water areas provides a great way to avoid damage to the technology while generating revenue for the protected areas.

Finally I predict that we will start seeing a hybridization of the two technologies together in areas to provide the ability to deal with variability and lessen the needs for storage, but as I have said the United States is just starting to provide leases for these type of facilities in continental shelf waters, this along with the retrofitting of old drilling platforms would allow the use of current infrastructures while lessening the environmental impact by using existing structures.