Wave energy turbine on the way

www.borderwatch.com.au
21 Oct 2013

THE countdown to the arrival of the world's first 1MW wave energy converter off the coast of Port McDonnell is underway with Sydney-based company Oceanlinx Limited set to launch the project this week. See your ad here The converter-called greenWAVE-will be connected to the electricity grid in South Australia by the end of the year and is expected to put the South East on the world renewable energy map.

The company has released the first photographs of the groundbreaking unit's turbine, which will soon be part of the seascape off Port MacDonnell. Constructed and to be launched into the water from TechPort in Adelaide on Friday, the $7m project will be the first of its kind to be commissioned in the world.

The demonstration unit received $4m from the Federal Government in a bid to make the project ready for market. The unit-which is on track for a December completion-will be grid-connected and rigorously tested throughout 2014.

The 3000 tonne demonstration unit will be on display at TechPort before being towed to its final location a few km off the coast of Port MacDonnell. The unit has a rated capacity of 1MW, which can supply power to about 1000 homes. Oceanlinx managing director Ali Baghaei said the converter was based on the oscillating water column principle.

He said the technology was one of the wave energy sector's most tested and matured technologies. Mr Baghaei said the unit was completely environmentally friendly, sitting under its own weight on the seabed in shallow water with no anchors, mooring or attachment to the seabed. "It is expected to act as an artificial reef for sea life", Mr Baghaei said.

"It has no moving parts under the water and is designed to withstand the most aggressive sea conditions, while there is ease of access to the weather-tight powerhouse placed above the sea level, so the life management costs are kept to the minimum". He said Oceanlinx had demonstrated three test platforms in the ocean over the past 16 years. See your ad here "It was the first company to achieve the full grid connection of a test platform in Australia in 2010", Mr Baghaei said.

"With an end to end solution, its technologies are globally patented and provide versatility for application in conjunction with a wide range of areas such as offshore platforms, breakwater construction, desalination and provision of energy and water to remote locations. "As a leading technology provider in the wave energy conversion sector, Oceanlinx is in discussion with a number of international entities to develop multiple units of this technology".

ABB Australia to supply equipment for Perth wave energy project

hydro.energy-business-review.com
19 Sep 2013

ABB Australia has won a contract from Carnegie Corporation Wave Energy for the onshore plant and process control system, which will be installed at the Perth wave energy project. ABB and Carnegie Corporation are likely to start initial onsite earthworks for the onshore plant in the near future.

To be located at Garden Island, Western Australia, the project calls for the installation and operation of four to eight submerged commercial scale Cylindrical Energy Transfer Oscillating (CETO) units with commissioning set for the first quarter of 2014.

Backed by Australian government funding through the Emerging Renewables Program, and the Western Australian State Government through the Low Emissions Energy Development fund, the project will sell its output to the Department of Defence for HMAS Stirling located on Garden Island.

Carnegie Corporation COO Greg Allen said that the company has awarded a contract to ABB for onshore plant and process control system, which is the final key element of the Perth wave energy project. "With all key elements ordered, and manufacture underway, we are making considerable progress toward the delivery of the Perth Wave Energy Project", added Allen.

Oceanlinx moves closer to wave energy go-ahead

www.businessspectator.com.au
11 Sep 2013

Oceanlinx Ltd has applied for South Australia's first generation licence using wave energy conversion technology, located offshore of Port MacDonnell, South Australia.

Oceanlinx Limited intends on installing a wave energy converter with a name plate rating of 1000kW. The unit will be connected to the 11kV distribution grid via a subsea cable, the SA Essential Services Commission says. All of the electricity generated will be sold to an energy retailer.

No fuel is used to generate the electricity. The unit is powered from air flow driving a turbine connected to an asynchronous generator. This air flow is created by the passing of waves interacting with the structure which houses the turbo-mechanical and electrical equipment.

The application will be assessed against relevant criteria specified in the Electricity Act and the Essential Services Commission Act 2002. Comments in respect of the application should be provided on or before October 7, 2013. The application has been made pursuant to Part 3 of the Electricity Act 1996 (Electricity Act).

Floating offshore turbines can reduce wind energy cost

dailyfusion.net
5 Jul 2013

Texas leads the U.VICOSC, in energy production with a combination of conventional and alternative energy sources. The state also produces the most wind power of any state in the nation, but with a growing population, there is a demand for more resources of renewable energy. A new design of floating offshore turbines that is being developed by scientists at Texas A&M University may be a cost-effective answer to that challenge.

Typical land-based wind turbines have blades diameters exceeding the wing span of a 747 jet plane. Offshore wind turbine structures can be even larger and are rigidly attached to the sea floor. Near the coast; however, these very large structures can interfere with the ocean view.

Dr. Bert Sweetman, associate professor of Maritime Systems Engineering Texas A&M University at Galveston is studying a new type of structural designs that enable substantial reductions in cost, with only minimal decrease in the amount of electricity generated. Sweetman describes the engineering challenges involved constructing offshore turbines.

"Placing wind turbines beyond sight of land in deep water will require a different type of structure that floats on the sea surface, rather than being fixed to the ocean floor", he said. "Ideally, these floating structures are designed to minimize motion despite wind and wave activity. Unfortunately, this conventional design is very expensive".

Sweetman says the expense, in part, is due to stabilising the large size of wind turbines in deep water. He says cost of these structures could be reduced substantially, if larger motions were found to be acceptable.

"The larger motions of these new structures present a myriad of design issues", Sweetman said. "Like a spinning bicycle wheel, the gyroscopic effect of huge whirling blades makes designs of these offshore structures uniquely challenging".

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Researchers poke holes in solar cells to improve efficiency

www.designnews.com
3 Jun 2013

Researchers have been working on a variety of ways to improve the efficiency of solar cells, including the use of a spray-coating technique and by working with electrons and photons. Now, government researchers have come up with yet another way--poking holes in silicon wafers so they don't reflect and waste valuable sunlight.

The method, called "dark solar", has been developed by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and it enables the cells to reflect only 2% of the sunlight that reaches them. The solar cells they've produced through this technology can work at an 18.2% efficiency rate, which is competitive for the type of black silicon cells researchers are working with.

The development of the black solar cells is "quite simple", but is enhanced by the hole-etching technique, according to information about the work provided to Design News by NREL spokesman William Scanlon.

To develop the cells, researchers first put the silicon silver/gray-colored wafer in a liquid solution of silver nitrate and hydrofluoric acid. In that bath, the ionic silver changes to silver nanoparticles. The wafer is then placed in a second bath of hydrofluoric acid and hydrogen peroxide, where the silver nanoparticles act as a catalyst for the oxidation of silicon, according to researchers.

While this process of making black silicon is not new, it's the etching of holes in the second bath of hydrofluoric acid and hydrogen peroxide that NREL has developed to bolster cell efficiency. These holes maximize the cell's sunlight conversion by preventing reflection of sunlight off the cell. To ensure the cells achieve top efficiency through the process, researchers had to consider the depth and size of the cells--they had to be deep and small enough to suppress reflections, but not too deep to impact the conversion efficiency.

"As the wavelengths move deeper and deeper into the holes they change gradually from wavelengths of air to wavelengths of silicon", researchers said in the NREL document provided by Scanlon. "That gradualness is the key. The photons never perceive an abrupt change from gas (air) to solid (silicon), and thus don't bounce back toward the atmosphere". That lack of bounce-back is what allows the photos to be absorbed in the silicon holes and thus non-reflective.

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Report supports windfarm noise

www.wellingtontimes.com.au
17 May 2013

The inaudible sound caused by windfarms is no worse than that from other rural and urban environments and does not affect human health, a review by the Victorian Department of Health has found. Some groups claim the inaudible noise from wind turbines, known as infrasound, can trigger health problems including dizziness, headaches and insomnia. Together, the syndromes are sometimes described as 'wind turbine syndrome'.

The Health Department review, released late last week, assessed the evidence and found it does not "support claims that inaudible sounds can have direct physiological effects. Physiological effects on humans have only been detected at levels that are easily audible".

The report says infrasound is generated by many sources, such as trains, breaking waves and air conditioners. The department found the evidence showed windfarms produced no more infrasound than the background level of sound in other environments.

The report went on to say "Humans have been exposed to high levels of infrasound throughout our evolution, with no apparent effects". The department found windfarms did produce audible noise through the swish of a rotating turbine blade, but the report says the typical sound pressure for most nearby residents-living up to a km from a turbine-is lower than many other everyday environmental noises.

It says audible noise, including that from windfarms, can cause annoyance resulting in prolonged stress and other health effects. The report says whether health effects are felt from low-level audible noise can depend on an individual's noise sensitivity and attitude to the source. Victoria has some of the world's toughest laws on windfarms, allowing any household to veto a new turbine within two km of their home.

Wind farm syndrome dismissed

www.theage.com.au
7 May 2013

The inaudible sound caused by wind farms is no worse than that from other rural and urban environments and does not affect human health, a review by the Victorian Department of Health has found. Some groups claim the inaudible noise from wind turbines, known as infrasound, can trigger health problems including dizziness, headaches, and insomnia. Together, the syndromes are sometimes described as ''wind turbine syndrome''.

The Health Department review, released late last week, assessed the evidence and found it does not ''support claims that inaudible sounds can have direct physiological effects. Physiological effects on humans have only been detected at levels that are easily audible.''

The report says infrasound is generated by many sources, such as trains, breaking waves and air conditioners. The department found the evidence showed wind farms produced no more infrasound than the background level in other environments. ''Humans have been exposed to high levels of infrasound throughout our evolution, with no apparent effects,'' the report says.

The department found wind farms did produce audible noise through the swish of a rotating turbine blade.But the report says the typical sound pressure for most nearby residents-living up to a km from a turbine-are lower than many other everyday environmental noises.

It says audible noise, including that from wind farms, can cause annoyance resulting in prolonged stress and other health effects. The report says whether health effects are felt from low-level audible noise can depend on an individual's noise sensitivity and attitude to the source. Victoria has some of the world's toughest laws on wind farms, allowing any household to veto a new turbine within two km of their home.

Carnegie Wave Energy formally awarded A$1.27M seawater desalination plant grant

www.proactiveinvestors.com.au
22 Apr 2013

Carnegie Corporation Wave Energy has been formally awarded the A$1.27 million AusIndustry grant to support its CETO Seawater desalination Demonstration Pilot Plant at Garden Island, Western Australia. The grant, which is half the $2.5 million cost, will support design and construction of the seawater desalination plant.

Carnegie Corporation's plant will be directly powered by CETO hydraulic energy from an offshore CETO system to demonstrate that wave energy driven seawater desalination has the potential to significantly and sustainably reduce the amount of electricity consumed by seawater desalination.

The CETO desalination pilot will be co-located with Carnegie Corporation's Perth Wave Energy Project (PWEP) on Garden Island, integrating off-the-shelf reverse-osmosis desalination technology with the PWEP infrastructure.

Key initial tasks ahead of construction include completing detailed design, securing environmental approvals, negotiation of a water sales agreement and, if possible, the integration of the construction and commissioning of the desalination pilot with the delivery of PWEP.

Carnegie wins EPA green light

au.news.yahoo.com
11 Dec 2012

Fremantle-based Carnegie Corporation Energy has won the race for Australia's first environmental approval of a wave energy project, but yesterday's green light from WA's watchdog has swung the spotlight on streamlined approvals for the renewable energy sector.

The Environmental Protection Authority announced that it had approved Carnegie Corporation's $31 million, 2 MW wave energy development for the Royal Australian Navy off Garden Island, without a full public review (PER). Carnegie Corporation is backed by prominent Perth investors, including John Poynton, Tim Roberts, Dale Alcock and Tim Holmes.

EPA chairman Paul Vogel told WestBusiness any perceptions that renewable energy projects were given favourable approval treatment was misplaced, and Carnegie Corporation's plan could be managed within existing maritime planning regulations. He also said the wave-power pioneer had done a mountain of work to reassure the EPA that there would be no damage to the environment.

"Each project is assessed on a case-by-case basis on their merits", he said. "Their environmental plan needed a bit of tweaking (such as how marine trenching might be rehabilitated),,, but they did a good job of front-end loading the process and addressing all of the issues".

However, Dr Vogel said the EPA was aware of growing angst in the community about wind farm developments, as in Victoria, and it would be issuing a bulletin next year to clarify its thinking on the issue. Dr Vogel said that while it had approved wind farms in the past without full PER's, as for other renewable energy projects, they still had to meet rigorous standards.*

Sustainable Energy Association adviser Ray Wills said renewable projects should have the same, not more, rigour applied to them as other projects and said industrial developments on the Kwinana strip were not assessed for low frequency sound impacts, as for wind proposals.

Carnegie Corporation chief executive Michael Ottaviano said the company's submerged power buoys had no visual impact, an environmental footprint no different to other buoys and its project had attracted marine life to the area. Its shares closed unchanged at $0.042

*In fact there is no "growing angst" regarding windfarm developments in Victoria, there is a small group of people attempting to portray that sentiment however and it is being exploited by the Victorian government.

Don’t cut clean energy while there’s a full head of steam

www.news.com.au
15 Oct 2012

Australia gets about 10% of its electricity from renewable energy and we’re shooting for double that by the end of the decade under our national 20% Renewable Energy Target. Australia currently gets about 10% of its electricity from renewable energy and we're shooting for double that by the end of the decade under our national 20% Renewable Energy Target.

So far this policy has delivered thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of investment, and is capable of much more if the Federal Government can resist tinkering with it. It's a classic case of "if it am't broke, don't fix it". The idea of producing pollution-free power just seems to make sense to people, which is why between 80-90% of people voice their support whenever a poll does the rounds. So far our politicians have acted to give them what they want.

The Renewable Energy Target is designed to deliver 20% of Australia's electricity from sources such as sun, wind, waves, bioenergy and others by the year 2020. Originally introduced by the Howard Government in 2001, the target was expanded by the Rudd Government in 2009 and is starting to hit its stride.

Business often talks about moving goalposts, but changing the way the scheme works now really would be like the AFL or the NRL changing the rules of the game halfway through the premiership season. It would mean that all the pre-season training, all the effort to recruit the best players and all the hours spent on strategy were irrelevant

Right now, major investors are mostly watching cautiously from the sidelines as the Federal Government's Climate Change Authority reviews the Renewable Energy Target. The authority is under pressure from a range of energy companies who are lobbying hard to have the target scaled back, or even dumped altogether, so they can carve out a bigger slice of the pie for either gas or coal.

But the effect of making major changes to the Renewable Energy Target wouldn't be just to lose a few matches-it would be measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars in investment and the thousands of jobs that would be lost. Ultimately it would be like a season where there was no winner-only losers. All over the world, interest in the renewable energy sector is at a record high, with US$257 billion being pumped into it last year across the globe.

Over the past decade, investors in Australia have chipped in around $18.5 billion of their own, with more than $3.5 billion in projects under construction. Large clean-energy projects supply enough clean energy for the equivalent of 2.1 million households. A further 1.5 million homes have solar panels or solar hot water. And there's potentially much more to come.

Vested interests that want to see the target changed or removed have been making a big deal about its costs. But those costs make up only a small percentage of the average power bill-7% versus the 40% contributed by upgrading poles and wires. What's more, the costs of meeting the target are going down as renewable energy falls in price and government incentives to buy solar power are wound back.

At the moment you're looking at less than $2 per week for an average household going towards renewable energy. In 2020 it will be about half that, provided the current Renewable Energy Target remains unchanged. That's a small price for tens of thousands of jobs, billions of dollars of investments and to protect us from the future impact of rising gas prices.

While speculation about the future of the carbon price remains, the Renewable Energy Target has been one of the few investment-grade policies that Australia's electricity generators have been able to rely on. This is largely because it is supported by all sides of politics.

The renewable energy industry has repeatedly outperformed expectations, forecasts and previous targets. If the government can resist the urge to intervene in the Renewable Energy Target, clean energy companies and investors can start to get on with the business of kicking some serious goals for Australia.

Kane Thornton is deputy chief executive of the Clean Energy Council

SunPower invests in Australian renewable electricity retailer Diamond Energy

www.benzinga.com
9 Oct 2012

SunPower today announced that it has invested in Diamond Energy Pty Ltd, a privately-owned, alternative energy project developer and clean electricity retailer headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Aligning with Diamond Energy will allow SunPower to offer more comprehensive and customizable clean energy solutions for customers in Australia. The unique partnership creates a one-stop shop for consumers, providing high efficiency solar electric systems, grid-source renewable energy, and retail services such as metering, billing, and management of exported electricity to the grid.

SunPower has acquired a minority stake of approximately 42% in Diamond Energy and under terms of the agreement has an option to increase its ownership percentage over time. SunPower will also assume a seat on the company's board of directors.

"SunPower is taking a step closer to its customers by investing in an electricity retailer like Diamond Energy", said Tom Werner, president and CEO of SunPower Corp. "More customers will see solar as a cost-effective way to meet growing energy demands, especially as the price of conventional grid power increases in Australia. Through this partnership, SunPower and Diamond Energy are poised to deliver affordable, renewable electricity services that cover everything from the generator to the household electricity meter. We look forward to this new venture and expect it to serve as a model for SunPower's continuing evolution into a complete energy solutions provider".

Established in 2004, Diamond Energy specializes in developing, delivering and managing renewable generation, cogeneration and interruptible load projects with a breadth of experience spanning solar, bioenergy, wind and wave technologies. The company currently owns two biogas plants, has power purchase agreements with a number of third-party generators and as Australia's "Solar Friendly Retailer" sells clean energy through its retail divisions to its residential and Commercial Green customers. Diamond Energy holds licenses to deliver electricity across the National Electricity Market Management Company (NEM) in Australia.

"This investment by SunPower supports the growth and strengthens Diamond Energy for the upcoming clean energy revolution", said Diamond Energy Managing Director Tony Sennitt. "We generate change here at Diamond, and through this relationship we will be able to bring the world's most efficient and reliable solar technology to a broad range of households and businesses throughout Australia at affordable prices. We look forward, with SunPower's support, to expanding the business into a shining, renewable example of what can be achieved when innovative value is delivered to customers".

Marine energy projects pick up momentum

www.nytimes.com
1 Oct 2012

LONDON--Hopes of harnessing the churn and flow of the seas to generate power are pushing forward work in the small but growing tidal and wave energy industry. Despite a tough investment climate, proponents expect the technologies to begin contributing significant amounts of clean energy to power grids around the world within a decade. Tidal energy technology harvests power from the rise and fall of the sea caused by the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth. Wave power systems harness the energy of surface waves.

The immense force of the tides has long tantalized those hoping to harvest energy from them, but although a few small projects are operational, the technical barriers are high. Two distinct technologies exist--traditional dam-based plants and more recent "tidal stream" generators, built like underwater windmills. But tidal dams can be ecologically harmful while in places suitable for tidal stream plants, currents can sometimes be so strong that they risk destroying the generating turbines.

Capturing energy from waves may be even trickier. But proponents say that if wave projects are successful, the energy available for harvest would be even greater than with tidal stream power, which requires particular physical conditions, like a narrows where water runs quickly. While not as predictable as the tides, waves can be anticipated several days in advance as they move across the sea, and they tend to be strong in winter, when demand for electricity is high.

Most tidal stream power projects are still in the testing phase--the first to deliver energy to the U.S, grid went on line last month--and wave energy is even further behind. Costs are far higher than for more-established renewable sources like wind and solar, largely because equipment must be strong enough to withstand the force of the seas, and maintenance workers have to brave tough marine conditions. But "there is a huge prize, and therefore it is worth going for", said Tim Yeo, a Conservative lawmaker in the British Parliament who heads the Commons' Energy and Climate Change Committee.

The predictability and power of tides makes them a potentially valuable complement to the uncertainty of wind and solar generation, and the amount of energy available is enormous, said Mr. Yeo. His committee reported in February that wave and tidal power could eventually meet 20% of Britain's current electricity demand.

For the industry, the biggest obstacle is cost. Small projects already in existence are generating energy at five to six times the price of onshore wind power, and seven times the price of natural gas power plants, said Joe Salvatore, a renewable-power analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. And the cost of installing devices has gone up, not down, as companies have learned from experience how tough their devices must be, he said.

"I'm optimistic in the medium term, I'm not necessarily optimistic in the short term", said Angus McCrone, chief editor at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. "There will be a shakeout and there will be casualties, and because of that, there will be negative publicity before there's positive publicity".

Still, costs should come down as technologies improve and equipment is manufactured on a larger scale, he said. Some big players, particularly engineering groups, are jumping into the sector. Rolls Royce bought the British company Tidal Generation in 2009 and Siemens bought Marine Current Turbines of Britain this year. The French firm DCNS has grabbed a stake in OpenHydro of Ireland.

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First wave energy plant soon to sell electricity

www.sciencewa.net.au
26 Sep 2012

AUSTRALIA'S largest naval base is about to host and exclusively benefit from the first demonstration wave energy plant in the world, putting Perth at the forefront of wave energy development. Soon to be developed on the Department of Defence's HMAS Stirling base on Garden Island, the Perth Wave Energy project will be the first grid-connected wave energy plant to produce retailable electricity.

As such, it will also be the first demonstration project to validate the technology as commercially viable. Expected to power up to 25% of the base's annual energy needs, the two MW plant culminates 10 years of research led by Carnegie Corporation Wave Energy, which so far has invested more than $50 million to get the technology to where it is. According to Carnegie Corporation chief operating officer Greg Allen, that investment was worthwhile in that it helped develop the CETO 5 unit. "The technology itself consists of a buoy, a rope and a pump which is a hydraulic cylinder the same as you'd find on an excavator", Allen said.

CETO distinguishes itself from other wave energy devices by operating fully submerged and anchored to the ocean floor. "We're using the wave force to push down against the buoyancy, and as the buoy moves down, the seabed-mounted wave activated pump drops and draws fluid [water and a few additives] in, until the motion of water molecules in the wave reverses and wants to go back up. "The buoy then moves up and pulls on the pump, so it's just dropping, drawing fluid in, pulling up and pushing fluid out in a closed loop. "Essentially the energy that we get is in the form of pressurised fluid that we pump ashore via a subsea pipeline to generate electricity onshore".

The Perth Wave Energy project will consist of five 10m diameter buoys that will be linked to shore by a set of two 3.2kms heavy steel pipelines. A generator will sit onshore and put the produced energy into the grid. Partly government-funded, the $32 million project is officially branded as a demonstration project, even though it will be the first revenue Carnegie Corporation makes from CETO. "This project will be our first revenue from selling electricity from our technology", Allen says. Allen says the Perth Wave Energy project has a 25 year design life and is likely to be expanded. Carnegie Corporation Wave Energy is currently contemplating several commercial opportunities for CETO in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, as well as internationally.

Province to build geothermal plant

vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn
September, 26 2012

HA NOI (VNS)--A pioneering 25MW geothermal power plant will be built in the central province of Quang Tri's Dakrong District, according to the Viet Nam Thermal Association vice chairman Ta Huong. The plant, set to be the very first of its kind in Viet Nam, has been licensed by provincial authorities and aims to promote exploration for new sources of energy in the near future.

Huong said Viet Nam has the potential for developing geothermal power in almost all provinces and cities nationwide, especially in Phu Tho, Quang Binh and Quang Tri. The geothermal plant can operate 24 hours a day without being affected by weather conditions such as sunlight, wind or sea wave. Geothermal electricity is generated from geothermal energy. It is considered to be sustainable and friendly-environmental because the heat extraction is small compared with the earth's heat content.

It's reported that the geothermal power plant will use Hot Dry Rock (HDR) heat mining technology to mine the heat from the hot rock found almost everywhere at some depth beneath the surface of the earth. The water is pumped into hot, crystalline rock via an injection well, which becomes superheated as it flows opening joints in the hot rock reservoir, and is then returned through production wells. At the surface, the useful heat is extracted to generate power and the same water is recirculated to mine more heat.

The technology has been used by many countries in the world including the US, Germany and Iceland. The US takes the lead, with its geothermal power output accounting for 32% of all geothermal power produced in the world. In the next 50 years, the US is expected to generate 100,000MW from geothermal energy, supplying power for 25 million households at a cost of around $40 million per year.

Kiwi wave energy device gets US trial

www.nzherald.co.nz
3 Sep 2012

A kiwi-designed device which generates electricity by ocean wave energy is one step closer to breaking into the massive US energy market. The Wave Energy Technology-NZ (Wet-NZ) converter will be tested off the Oregon coast over the next two months. It is a major milestone for the eight-year project, which was a collaboration between Industrial Research Ltd (IRL), a Crown Research Institute, and private Wellington company Power Projects Ltd.

Success with the trial meant the possibility of full-scale commercialisation in the US, said Gavin Mitchell, IRL general manager of industry engagement. "This US deployment is a great opportunity to promote New Zealand technology in one of the world's most important energy markets". The device was designed to extract as much energy as possible from three different types of wave motion.

A half-scale, 18.4 metre long version would be moored to the sea floor off Oregon in an upright position, with wave movement converted into energy by a system of on-board hydraulics. Mitchell said the next step after this test would be to get further funding from the US government to develop and trial a full-scale version of the device. That would need to be tested in bigger, more powerful waves in another part of the country, he said.

The designers had also applied to the US navy to be considered for a 12 month test in Hawaii. "That's to allow the navy to evaluate energy devices to look at rolling it out at their bases worldwide". Wave-energy technology was still in its early stages both in New Zealand and internationally, Mitchell said. "Imagine where wind turbines were 15 years ago-there were early trials and then suddenly there was a mass adoption. "At the moment, there are only one or two devices as advanced as ours".

Wet-NZ technology used wave energy rather than tidal power, he said. Getting the project to this testing point was possible due to a US$2 million grant from the US Department of Energy and a partnership with US company Northwest Energy Innovations. The New Zealand Government had also provided funding to get the project scaled up from proof-of-concept to prototype. Wet-NZ had been refined based on the results of deployments at various sites around New Zealand, as well as extensive wave tank modelling. IRL is a Crown Research Institute with the task of supporting New Zealand industry.

Wave energy facility operational

democratherald.com
22 Aug 2012

(US) NEWPORT — One of the first public wave energy testing systems in the United States began operation this week off the Oregon coast near Newport. It will allow private industry and academic researchers to test new technology. The Ocean Sentinel is a $1.5 million device developed by the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, or NNMREC, at Oregon State University.

OSU described it as "a major step forward for the future of wave energy" and said it should do its first testing within days — a "WetNZ" device developed by private industry.

The mobile wave energy test device will be used by many companies and academic researchers in the quest to develop wave energy technology, measure and understand the wave resource, and study the energy output and other important issues, OSU said.

"The Ocean Sentinel will provide a standardized, accurate system to compare various wave energy technologies, including systems that may be better for one type of wave situation or another," said Sean Moran, ocean test facilities manager with NNMREC.

"We have to find out more about which technologies work best, in what conditions, and what environmental impacts there may be," Moran said. "We're not assuming anything. We're first trying to answer the question, 'Is this a good idea or not?' And if some technology doesn't work as well, we want to find that out quickly, and cheaply, and the Ocean Sentinel will help us do that."

Experts say that, unlike some alternative energy forms such as wind power, it's probable that no one technology will dominate the wave energy field.

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Wind turns corner for green, ethical investors

www.irishtimes.com
21 Aug 2012

ETHICAL INVESTMENT-two words that you might imagine have gone somewhat out of fashion in these financially fatigued days. Not, it appears, when it comes to Northern Ireland, where the opportunity to "earn a return on an ethical investment" has inspired a new wave of investors to take a chance on a pioneering green energy venture.

Drumlin Wind Energy Co-operative-which hopes to raise up to £3.4 million to build the North's first community wind farm co-op-says it has been pleasantly surprised by the response to its public share offering.

The Drumlin Wind Energy Co-op launched its offering in Belfast in June and it has attracted more than £562,755 of investment so far-which its directors say has "exceeded expectations". The co-op wants to build and operate five 250kW single wind turbines in locations including Pomeroy, Kells, Larne and Ballyclare. Drumlin Wind was set up by Energy4All-a not-for-profit organisation in the UK owned by the community co-operatives it creates.

Energy4All emerged in the mid-1980s following the arrival in the UK of a Swedish company that successfully exported the Swedish concept of community ownership of wind farms. This led to the creation of the UK's first community wind farm co-op-Baywind in Cumbria-which now has more than 1,300 members and is proud to boast "profits".

Baywind created Energy4All to help other UK communities create locally owned wind farm ventures; today it administers a total of seven additional co-ops which have attracted more than £15 million of investment.

Drumlin Wind, which has a board of local directors, needs to raise minimum capital of £1.5 million to enable it to install two wind turbines in the North. If it fails to raise the minimum amount, everyone who has invested to date will get their money back.

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Harvesting green tidal energy

power-eng.com
5 Aug 2012

Ocean power is an endless source of renewable green energy. It is clean, environmentally acceptable and economically cheap. Electricity generation from ocean energy is based on tidal power, wave energy, ocean thermal energy conversion, ocean winds and salinity gradients. Among these, three well developed technologies are tidal power, wave energy and ocean thermal energy conversion. Tidal energy is a form of hydroelectric that converts the tidal power into electricity. It requires large tidal differences.

This difference between the mean high-water volume and the mean low-water volume of an estuary is called tidal prism. The term 'tidal prism' can be defined as the total amount of water that flows into a harbor or flows out again with movement of the tide in water flow. Tidal energy has been used since the,Roman times and in the middle Ages in Europe to run early tide mills. No doubt, this energy is pollution free and environment friendly. Therefore, world must think to replace fossil fuel based energy by this green energy.

In the present time, a number of countries have already been, using tidal power to generate electricity. World's largest plant for the generation of electricity from tidal power is in La Rancee in France. A number of tidal power based power stations have been established in North America. India has planned to generate electricity from tidal power very soon. Bangladesh has to think about this to overcome its present electricity crisis and the future energy security. The position and shape of Bangladeshi coast and its Islands are favorable for the establishment of tide based power station.

Tides result from the gravitational attraction of the Earth-Moon-Sun system acting on the earth's ocean. Tides are long period waves that result in the cyclical that generate electricity from horizontally flowing tidal currents like wind turbines. Tidal energy is predictable than,wind power and solar power, but cannot be used to generate electricity at consistent level constantly. Twice in every 12.42 hours (24 hours in some locations) the tidal current speed and hence the electricity generation capacity falls to zero. If tidal power is required to produce a sustained based load for local grid, then some form of energy storage or back-up will be needed.

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Renewables winning the energy race

Clean Energy Council
31 Jul 2012

A report released today by the Federal Government shows that clean energy such as wind, solar and landfill gas will be among the lowest-cost sources of electricity within the next 20 years under current policies. Clean Energy Council Deputy Chief Executive Kane Thornton said the report confirmed that the way Australia generated and consumed energy was changing-fast.

"While the recent public debate often oversimplifies Australia's energy choice as 'clean vs cheap', this report shows the argument is now desperately out of date. Renewables are rapidly becoming the lowest cost source of energy and, by building renewable energy now, we are able to create the diversity of sources we need to have low cost and reliable energy in the future", Mr Thornton said.

"We welcome comments from Energy Minister Martin Ferguson that a number of renewable energy technologies could have some of the lowest levelised costs of any energy source within the next two decades. "Every government in the country has underestimated the ability of renewable energy to improve in efficiency and come down in price. This report goes some way towards addressing the balance. "

Mr Thornton said the report showed the importance of the Renewable Energy Target to drive the take-up of clean energy in Australia and why policymakers needed to provide stable policy support so that this full potential could be realised. "The Renewable Energy Target is designed to deliver 20% of Australia's electricity from renewable sources such as the sun, the wind, the waves, bioenergy and others by 2020 at the lowest cost to consumers. The scheme allows technologies to effectively compete against each other to drive down the cost of renewable power for everyone", he said.

"The majority of the energy sector has called for the policy to be left alone in order to provide investment-grade policy support certainty necessary to unlock tens of billions of dollars in private investment between now and the end of the decade. "Renewable energy takes advantage of our free and abundant natural resources and can provide an insurance policy against the volatile price of fossil fuelled electricity such as gas, which has been rising in recent years. In contrast, the cost of renewable energy has been dropping rapidly. In the case of landfill gas generation, the costs are already on par".

The Australian Energy Technology Assessment, by the independent Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics, looked at cost estimates for 40 electricity generation technologies under current policy settings including the carbon price and the Renewable Energy Target.

Where did good policy go?

www.businessspectator.com.au
23 Jul 2012

Victoria's wind power sector is in a state of flux. After a strong run-up in capacity over the past few years, led by the 192 MW Waubra wind farm, plans for development have been curbed in the wake of new government guidelines-an all too familiar story for the clean energy sector. The new Baillieu government requirements, introduced last year, sees wind farms banned from many areas of the state as well as offering homeowners the right to veto any development within two km of their house.

Since the guidelines came into effect, there have been no new wind farm applications. The story is the same in New South Wales, where similarly arduous guidelines have been enforced. That's not good policy, unless you are actively looking to destroy an entire sector.

Keppel Prince, Australia's largest wind turbine maker, is a symbol of the problems. In the two months to June it reportedly cut over 10% of its workforce as demand dried up. The Portland-based company is at the heart of wind farm developments in Victoria, with four wind farms in the vicinity of its base of Portland on Victoria's western coast.

Keppel Prince, with around 450 staff at the beginning of the year, is not a big player from a global perspective, but it is indicative of the problems with clean energy policy in Australia in general. Peruse the Google News archives and you will see regular stories of job gains and job cuts as policy shifts dictate its immediate future. A major jobs announcement is practically an annual event.

The constant 'toing and froing' on policy across federal and state levels leaves the clean energy sector hopelessly exposed. Half-full rarely exists when it comes to turning Australia into a clean energy powerhouse.

Beyond wind farms coming under pressure in New South Wales and Victoria, this year we have seen solar PV face the risk of boom then bust in Queensland and the solar hot water rebate closure on a federal level. In all cases, the rules changed with little notice given. There are of course positives in clean energy policy, but even they are shrouded in doubt.

Solar Flagships Program offered great potential for the development of large-scale solar. We now sit three years after the $1.5 billion program was formed however, with just one confirmed project that will cost the government $170 million and create 159MW of capacity. At the start of the year that was going to be $770 million (which could have been reduced as solar panel prices had slumped) and around 400MW.

On the surface, the $10 billion of funding for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation is great news for the sector, but given the glacial speed of Solar Flagships Program, one must be wary of speaking too soon. Especially as the overwhelming favourite to win the next election, Tony Abbott, has promised to consign it to the scrap bin.

The carbon price is not perfect policy-with so many stakeholders in play that is not really possible-but it is a step in the right direction. It too is haunted by the Abbott shadow, however. While a repeal may be unlikely, the fact it is regularly canvassed undermines the power of the legislation to help transform the nation's energy supply.

Fortunately, we still have the bipartisan renewable energy target, but now the likes of Origin Energy's Grant King are looking to change the rules. We await with baited breath the outcome of a crucial review of the RET by the newly formed Climate Change Authority-and hopefully some much needed certainty for renewable energy policy will follow. Without it, the Keppel Prince tale will become much more than a worrying trend.