Newsletter - August'10

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Renewable Energy from the Sea

From 'The Engineer' of 11th January '10 comes this story by Siobham Wagner entitled 'Humber rides the Wave' of a demonstration of a new tidal-energy machine called 'Neptune Proteus NP1000' soon to be deployed in the Humber Estuary.

Proteus is a moored device built with a square-turbine cross section designed to work in shallow waters. It has patented flow-control shutters to maximise the area of water hitting the turbines, thus increasing torque and power output, designed to function efficiently, generating 30% more electricity per unit channel than circular turbines, generating at least 1,000MW total.

Mega-windfarm coming to offshore Norfolk — Approval is imminent for a £100 billion investment into third-generation windfarms that will include 1,000 turbines to be placed by Scottish Power and Sweden's state-owned Vattenfall 15 miles off the Norfolk coast. But construction of the massive project may not start until 2018.

The wider story is told by Stephen Pullinger in the Eastern Daily Press of 5th January '10 in an article entitled 'Off-shore wind farm plan heralded as green power step change'.

Fuel from the seabed — There are plans to generate a synthetic fuel gas by gently burning coal deposits under the seabed of North and North-East Norfolk and other UK coastal areas.

Strangford Lough — The Cutting Edge of Tidal Power Technology — Watch the video clip on the marine current turbine in Strangford Lough, with Peter Frankel of Marine Current Turbines (MCT) at www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLzxsWxIquw&NR=1.

Severn Tidal Power Consultation — The government is consulting not about a final decision, but over which projects should be taken forward on the shortlist for further study — or which ones should be added. Marinet supports much opinion and local people in large majority who want the "megabarrage" dropped from the shortlist.

Power from Tidal Currents — grossly undervalued — The Carbon Trust's Future Marine Energy (January 2006) gave a low figure for the total UK resource and relatively high costs for power from marine currents. How reliable are its projections?

COWRIE reports on Marine Mammals and Energy Devices — COWRIE (Collaborative Offshore Wind Research Into the Environment) is a registered charity set up to advance and improve understanding and knowledge of the potential environmental impacts and benefits of offshore windfarm development in UK waters. COWRIE Ltd has commissioned and published a number of reports on birds, marine mammals, underwater noise, cumulative impacts and electromagnetic fields in relation to offshore windfarms. These can be found on the new COWRIE website at www.offshorewind.co.uk under publications. The recent publication of the report prepared by BioConsult, "Methodologies for measuring and assessing potential changes in marine mammal behaviour, abundance or distribution arising from the construction, operation and decommissioning of offshore windfarms" is available for review on their website here. The report will be available to review until the end of August 2008. A report review form is available for download on the website.

Proposed Wash Barrage — The proposal to construct a barrage across The Wash has brought about a whole new debate over the apparent conflict of interests between those who wish to see protection of people and property as Global Warming escalates sea rise, and those who wish to maintain such an internationally important wetland site free from damage.

Britain's first Tidal power farm — off Anglesey coast — Npower Renewables have teamed up with Marine Current Turbines (MCT) to propose seven tidal current turbines generating 1.5 MW three km north-west of the coast of the Anglesey in an area known as the Skerries.

Could sea power solve the energy crisis? — Research being conducted at Southampton University into marine renewable energy technology believes that a system developed by the French inventor Georges Claude in the 1920s could provide all the electricity and hydrogen that we need globally, along with large amounts of desalinated water.

Tidal News for MARINET — How will the Commission report?   The Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) aims to report on its tidal power studies early in October 2007.

Tidal Power for the UK — the Severn Estuary debate   Should we be building tidal barrages, tidal lagoons or marine current turbines in the Severn estuary and around UK coasts? Which technology is best, offering cost-efficient and reliable electricity generation and an acceptable environmental impact? This article looks at the facts and myths in this important debate.

Technological Advance in Generating Electricity from Tides   Significant developments announced in the technology for generating electricity from tides and tidal currents in the UK.

Climate Change and the Marine Environment Nov 06   Report of the Coastal Futures conference

Wave & Tidal Power in the Severn?   "best prospect is tidal current turbines" — Barry & Vale FoE contribute to the debate

Tidal Power Update in Cardiff   Renewable Energy Conference

Wave & Tidal Technology Symposium   Organised in Bristol, 13th July 2006, by the Renewable Energy Association

Wave Hub — test site for Cornwall   A test site for wave power devices is proposed off the north Cornish coast has met with some alarmist press comment.

Norway's Statkraft optimistic on marine current turbines   Norwegian firm Statkraft says subaquatic sea tide-harnessing machines could in future provide 3% of the EU's electricity.

Tidal Power for East Anglia?   Tidal power from the Norfolk coast could be harnessed to generate huge amounts of electricity

Pelamis   mechanical snake to extract megawatts from Waves

World's First   Testing centre for wave and tidal energy machines set up in the Orkney Islands

Tidal Turbines   Sea change for tidal power — New underwater turbines could be cheap and eco-friendly

US Installing Underwater Turbines   U.S. Cities Eye Ocean Waves for Power Supplies

Some older articles have been moved to the Archive section