Transcript [TIDAL WAVE AND OCEAN CURRENT ENERGY PRODUCTION]

Tom Speer
 Review new perspectives on tidal energy.
 Inform audience about tidal/current energy production
 Find areas in need of Further Research.
 Find the most current research and educate audience.
 Try to persuade the audience to support topic.
The Beginning
•Greek cities first utilized water to power
there wheat and saw mills.
•In the 1700’s French hydraulic engineer
Bernard Forest de Belindor developed
the first horizontal and vertical axis
machines.
•These machines used pumps and
waterwheels to produce energy.
U.S. Harnessing Electric Power
• 1881, The city of Niagara
Falls used one of the first
hydro-electric machines to
power street lamps to light
the city.
• By 1907 hydropower
provided 15% of all U.S.
electrical needs
• 1940, hydropower tripled
to reach an all time high,
producing 40% of all U.S.
electricity
Currently
 Most energy in the United States
is produced by fossil-fuel and
nuclear power plants,
hydroelectricity is still important
to the Nation, as about 7 percent
of total power is produced by
hydroelectric plants. 80,000 MW
 30,000 MW of potential
production still available.
 Why cant we harness more?
 How can we harness more?
Undeveloped low power, low head hydropower sites in the contiguous United States. The light blue dots show
sites with less than 100 kW of hydropower potential. The dark green and brown dots show sites with a
hydropower potential of 100 kW to 1 MW. The purple areas are excluded from hydropower development. Source:
Hydropower Potential of the United States with Emphasis on Low Head/Low Power Resources (PDF 3.6 MB), p. 17.
Tidal Wave & Ocean Current
Energy Production
The Wavebob
• Ireland chose to invest in this
new technology.
•Wave power could produce
up to 70% of Irelands energy.
•Average electrical power
500kW
How Wavebob Works
• Hydraulic pumps generate electricity while moving up and down while
surface water causes the device to bob
• The Wavebob is an axi-symmetric buoy structure on slack moorings which
makes it inherently sea-worthy.
•The Wavebob typically carries three or four motor-alternator sets, all or
some of which may be entrained, depending on incident wave energy.
• Extreme sea states also contain some of the harshest
environments on earth making installation and maintenance difficult
and creating issues around the survivability of the devices.
Pelamis “Sea Snake”
• Device derived in Portugal,
Floats atop the ocean’s surface.
•Each of the Pelamis’s converters
segments is about the size of a
train car.
• Passing waves bend the joints
while hydraulic rams work to
pump oil at high pressure
through motors producing
electricity.
The Newest in Production
Open Hydro Group Model
Ocean Turbine
Ocean Turbine
 Submerged water turbines similar
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to wind turbines.
These turbines have rotor blades, a
generator for converting the
rotational energy into electricity.
Transporting the electrical current
to shore for incorporation into the
electrical grid.
installed on buoys and driven by
tidal and ocean currents rotating
the turbine at between 10 and 20
rpm.
Power output is predictable based
on tide tables
Open Hydro Group Model
 December 2006, Irish energy technology
company OpenHydro successfully
completed the installation of the first
tidal turbine
 With a hole in the middle of a generator,
water is pushed through the hub, turning
the wheel and creating electric energy
Areas in Need of Further Research
Slow Water Currents
 80% of earths currents are
slower than 3 knots.
 New prototypes are being
used to create energy from
slow moving ocean and river
water.
 This technology may be the
answer to questions asked
about slow current production
Slow Current Energy “Vivace”
 Called Vivace, is inspired by the way
fish swim, and consists of a system
of cylinders positioned horizontal to
the water flow and attached to
springs
 can generate energy using currents
that are as slow as under 1 knot and
do not obstruct views or access on
the water's surface
 1 x 1.5 kilometers (less that 1/2
square mile) in a current of 3 knots
could generate enough power for
100,000 homes.
Conclusion
 Currently hydropower provides more than 97% of all electricity generated
by renewable sources
 The Irish are at the top in developing and producing this new technology
 Hydro-power provides unique benefits that are rarely found in other energy
sources. It could help prevent the burning of over 22 billion gallons of oil or
120 million tons of coal
 Time is now for the change in our energy source, one may see a future in
this clean, abundant energy source
 help support the investments and advances in the energy production for
future generations
References
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Wave power push for new WA desalination plant.Preview Ecos, Jun/Jul2007 Issue 137, p5-5, 2/3p, 1 color; (AN 26080553)
Capturing Energy Under the Sea.Preview Futurist, Mar/Apr2009, Vol. 43 Issue 2, p2-2, 1/4p, 2 color; (AN 36400438)
Wave Power.Preview By: Wilson, Stiv J.. E - The Environmental Magazine, May/Jun2008, Vol. 19 Issue 3, p18-21, 3p; (AN 31967733)
Who Owns the Tides?Preview By: Hartzell, Frank. E - The Environmental Magazine, May/Jun2008, Vol. 19 Issue 3, p20-20, 2/3p; (AN
31967734)
WAVES OF CHANGE.Preview By: J. R. P.. E - The Environmental Magazine, Jul/Aug2008, Vol. 19 Issue 4, p24-24, 1/5p; (AN 32800544)
Blue Power: Turning Tides into Electricity.Preview By: Holzman, David C.. Environmental Health Perspectives, Dec2007, Vol. 115 Issue 12,
pA590-A593, 4p, 6 color; (AN 27952401)
Tidal current energy extraction: hydrodynamic resource characteristics.Preview By: Couch, S. J.; Bryden, I.. Proceedings of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers -- Part M -- Journal of Engineering for the Maritime Environment, 2006, Vol. 220 Issue 4, p185-194, 10p, 3 graphs; DOI:
10.1243/14750902JEME50; (AN 23529338)
ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE: Hydroelectric Project Blasts into Alaskan Lake.Preview By: Reid, Robert L.. Civil Engineering (08857024),
Nov2008, Vol. 78 Issue 11, p26-29, 4p, 1 color; (AN 34992510)
The Current Status and Future Opportunities of Hydroelectricity.Preview By: Bakis, R.. Energy Sources Part B: Economics, Planning & Policy,
Jul2007, Vol. 2 Issue 3, p259-266, 8p, 5 charts, 2 diagrams, 1 graph; DOI: 10.1080/15567240500402958; (AN 25958499)
Hydropower and the World's Energy Future.Preview By: Kaygusuz, Kamil. Energy Sources, Feb2004, Vol. 26 Issue 3, p215-224, 10p; (AN
12253095)
Life cycle assessment of the Seagen marine current turbine.Preview By: Douglas, C. A.; Harrison, G. P.; Chick, J. P.. Proceedings of the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers -- Part M -- Journal of Engineering for the Maritime Environment, 2008, Vol. 222 Issue 1, p1-12, 12p, 4
charts, 3 diagrams, 3 graphs, 1 bw; DOI: 10.1243/14750902JEME94; (AN 30056108)
A low-speed generator for energy conversion from marine currents – experimental validation of simulations.Preview By: Thomas, K.; Grabbe,
M.; Yuen, K.; Leijon, M.. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers -- Part A -- Power & Energy, Jun2008, Vol. 222 Issue 4, p381388, 8p, 1 chart, 4 diagrams, 1 graph, 2 color; DOI: 10.1243/09576509JPE567; (AN 32854836)
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