Tide turning for ocean energy - Sea power generating interest overseas

Sun Herald
Sunday 30/11/2008 Page: 42

AN AUSTRALIAN company at the forefront of harnessing tidal power to generate energy is expected to announce a string of international contracts this week Atlantis Resources Corporation has developed turbines that can generate electricity from the movement of the sea. It has begun trials at San Remo in Victoria.

The company is now confident it will win a contract to build 500 underwater turbines in the sea off Scotland. The so-called tidal farm can power a million homes. "This is a story of a group of young Australians doing wonderful things on a global scale," said Atlantis chief executive Timothy Cornelius. He cited the design work of 28-year-old Dr John Keir whose deep water Solon AG turbine is now considered the world's most efficient underwater generator.

"This young guy from Townsville, in 12 months, has gone from concept to building this turbine," Mr Cornelius said. "The company is hopefully about to make some significant announcements on new projects with the potential to generate hundreds of megawatts of power in the United States, Canadian and Asian markets." Mr Cornelius said the area that the company is hoping to develop in Scotland - the Pentland Firth in the country's north - has been described as the Saudi Arabia of marine power.

But Scottish engineer, Tony Trapp, has told The Scotsman newspaper that tidal power is not reliable enough to generate the power levels that Atlantis suggests. Dr Trapp said: "The trouble is, it isn't the solution. Tidal and wave are trivial in the world energy picture. The overall conclusion is its silly. It's not a sensible use of intellect or financial resources." Mr Cornelius disagrees. '"The tides are completely reliable so much so that you can predict them 20 years in advance.

That is exactly the kind of information energy companies are looking for. We can be highly accurate on our outputs to the electricity grid." He said each of the Solon AG turbines which works best when submerged more than 40 metres, could generate two megawatts of power. "When you consider water covers 75 per cent of the world's surface it is a wonderful opportunity because so much of that power is, underdeveloped."

The company began in northern NSW, developing the shallow water Nereus turbine, which can generate power from rivers, and has now moved to Singapore to be nearer its Asian markets. But Mr Cornelius said it was lobbying state governments in Australia with the aim of creating fields of underwater turbines off the coast of Western Australia and Victoria.