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JULY 6th, 2005
The Gleneagles G8 Summit, held this week between July 6 and July
8 is one place to learn more about marine or tidal energy. Scotland is known for its marine energy potential and its tidal
energy companies. Companies involved in marine energy are located in Solway Firth, located in Southwest Scotland, where a
tidal range of 5.5 meters is noted, and Pentland Firth.
Marine energy organizations in Scotland include Ocean Power
Delivery Limited, which offers a hinged-joint small wave energy flotilla device, Robert Gordon University and the European
Marine Energy Centre (EMEC). The Ocean Power wave energy float is called the Pelamis P-750, and is currently being deployed
off the coast of Portugal in one of the first commercial wave energy generation projects.
Scotland is said to have a 59.1 Gigawatts of renewable resources,
making it a potential energy exporter if it can successfully tame the wild waves. Scotland presently consumes about 10.5 Gigawatts.
Africa is expected to be a topic of this year's summit – one reason is that it could possible use Scotland’s
renewable energy resources and technology.
According to Lorna Jack, Director of the Americas at Scottish Development
International, Scotland will derive a significant amount of its energy from renewable resources in just 5 years,
"Thanks to our marine energy industry, we are on target of having 18 percent of Scottish electricity coming from renewable
sources by 2010. Initiatives such as the EMEC, the world's first marine test center and Robert Gordon University's development
of the Snail, a prototype turbine platform used for generating marine energy, have permitted Scotland to excel in renewables
and to be a model for industrialized nations across the globe."
JULY 6th, 2005
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) has approved the
investment of $43.4 million in 15 new clean technology projects. The projects are focused in five major areas: power generation,
energy utilization, transportation, waste management and forestry and agriculture.
Specific projects noted for SDTC’s sixth funding round were
a low-cost solid-state lighting project to be led by Group IV Semiconductor, Inc., based in Ottawa. For small scale generation
of electricity from tidal power, Clean Current Power Systems, based in Vancouver, will lead a project to develop. For greenhouse
and transparent structure energy efficiency Sunarc of Canada Inc., based in Montreal, will lead a project for the development
of on-demand insulation.
Describing the requirements to receive funding was SDTC Chairman
James M. Stanford. " Each of the projects is subjected to an exhaustive review process and must be represented by a consortium
of organizations rather than a single company. These requirements improve the opportunities for successful technology demonstration
and strengthen their market readiness."
The SDTC also reported that “other private and public sector
consortia partners are investing an additional $116 million in the 15 projects.”
Power generation and energy utilization projects received the most
attention in the funding round. Organizations and companies to receive power generation funding include Angstrom Power
Incorporated, Clean Current Power Systems Inc., and GE Canada. Organization and companies to receive energy utilization funding
included University of British Columbia, Sunarc of Canada Inc., Encelium Technologies Inc., EnerWorks Inc., Group IV Semiconductor
Inc., SAIC Canada and NORAM Engineering and Constructors Ltd.
Transportation funding has been approved for Electrovaya Corp. and
Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. Agriculture and Forestry projects approved included projects for Parkland BioFibre Ltd. and
Prairie Pulp and Paper Inc.. For Waste Management funding, Terra Gaia Inc. was selected.
JUNE 30th, 2005
Gas powered boats have long been the scourge of lakes and oceans,
polluting both the air and sometimes pristine water with toxic emissions and unhealthy oil. However, electric motor technology
is set to change that and perhaps much more. The technology suggests that fleets of docked boats could be turned into sources
of tidal current based electricity and super high speed electric boats could be designed to quickly traverse large bodies
of water.
Solomon Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:SOLM), which has a line of electric
motors for boats and ships of any size, has announced that the Alligator, a 26 passenger launch, has been retrofitted with
a Solomon propulsion system by Florida State University’s Center for Advanced Power Systems.
At the heart of Solomon’s electric motor is the Electric Wheel,
which was originally used in NASA’s Sojourner Mars rover. The Electric Wheel’s dual motor offers sailors an extra
margin of safety. If one motor fails, the other motor can be used to safely bring the vessel into dock. The electric motor
technology is also considered scalable. According to Solomon’s web site, the NASA Working Group concluded the Electric
Wheel design in a scaled scenario could provide up to 5,000 horsepower - enough to replace the heavy duty motors of tug boats.
Inside the Electric Wheel motor is a programmable pulse width modulation
controller that is used to adjust gear and torque for different loads through rotor speed and position feedback from Hall-effect
sensors. This gives the electric motor the capability to adjust itself to heavy loads, that require low speed and large torque
or light loads, which lend themselves to high acceleration rates.
As an added pulse, the electric motor is designed to charge the external battery bank, when
forces such as tidal current turn the motor in the opposite direction.
JUNE 1st, 2005
£2.68 Million for United Kingdom Tidal Energy Prototype
- SMDHydrovision Chosen
Malcom Wicks, the United Kingdom's Energy Minister has announced £2.68 million for TidEl, a
prototype tidal energy project. SMDHydrovision, a manufacturer of underwater water machines, as part of the project will build
a 1 megawatt TidEl prototype at a facility in Blyth, Northhumberland. On acknowledgement of the £2.68 million grant funding,
SMDHydrovision noted that there was a potential to develop 7000 megawatts of energy from tidal sources around the United Kingdom.
Malcolm Wicks also indicated that over £20 million has already
been committed to tidal and wave energy technology over the next five years. Additionally, a new fund, the £50 million Marine
Renewable Deployment Fund is expected to also be used for bringing the water energy technology closer to commercialization.
MAY 24th, 2005
New Wave Energy Facility to Come On-Line – Market
Forecast at $10 Billion
The Associated Press and Ocean Power Delivery Ltd. have reported on one of the
first commercial wave energy generation facilities, known as a wave farm. The wave farm is expected to generate electricity
off the coast of northern Portugal as early as 2006. Unlike the wave energy facility planned for the United Kingdom, the wave
farm will float on top of the water instead of being submerged underneath.
The first phase of the project will produce an estimated 2.25 megawatts
of electricity. Although not a significant amount of energy in terms of world total power consumption, Ocean Power Delivery,
which provides the wave energy generators, estimates that the Portuguese market will reach 1 billion Euros in the next ten
years, that is according the Managing Director Richard Yemm. The company in addition to the initial 2.25 megawatts anticipates
another order for 20 more magewatts.
The wave farm to be 3 miles off the coast will deliver electricity
to land via and underwater power cable. Norsk Hydro AS and Ocean Power Delivery are two of the major companies involved in
the project.
MAY 18th, 2005
APRIL 14th, 2005
Wave energy may help diversify Northern California away from its
traditional roots in lumber. DG Energy Solutions LLC has included wave and wind energy as part of its plans to upgrade the
Fairhaven Power Co. (Eureka, CA), which it just acquired by DG Energy. The upgrade to the plant includes a potential $2 million
to $3 million in environmental and reliability upgrades. DG Energy President and CEO Steve Mueller has been intrigued by the
opportunities in Humboldt County, "The opportunities for new and expanded power generation at this plant and in the Humboldt
County region are intriguing. We're certainly looking to increase plant efficiency, but that's only the beginning. Soon we
look to possibly team with the community to increase our site capacity with wind and wave power. We think it will be great
for the region, providing more energy independence."
The Fairhaven plant, certified by the State of California as a renewable
energy generator, is a biomass facility. It generates 120,000,000 kWH every year with about 260,000 tons of wood waste. DG
Energy indicates that it will add four to five additional biomass plants over the next two years in North America.
MARCH 30th, 2005
Renewable Hawaii, Inc. wants to invest more in Hawaii's renewable
energy capacity. Sources it is considering an investment in include sun, wind, hydro, biomass, wave or geothermal
energy. Renewable Hawaii indicates that 33 acres at Maui Electric Company's Waena Generating Station can now be used for such
a project. Renewable Hawaii finances renewable energy projects and takes equity positions in the associated companies.
MARCH 3rd, 2005
Wave Energy Funding Breaks Into The News
Reports from the Scottish Press Association (The Press Association Limited) indicate that the United Kingdom’s
Department of Trade and Industry will announce a grant of 2.25 million pounds to Lunar Energy for the development of tidal
energy technology. Specifically the grant is to go to the further development
of the Rotech Tidal Turbine , which is used to harness energy from waves. Unlike problematic wind energy technology, this
wave energy technology is invisible from the ocean surface. A common complaint about wind energy harvesting is that the modern
windmills tower are unsightly and a hazard to birds. Lunar Energy has already developed a miniature prototype of the wave
energy device.
Lunar Energy was also listed as a recipient of 5.66 million pounds 2005 for the development of RTT Tidal Stream Technology
Development. The published list, dated January 11, 2005, summarized over 60 million
pounds of grants awarded by the United Kingdom’s
Department of Trade and Industry.
Mike O'Brien, Energy Minister, according to the Scottish report, was to make the announcement official at the British
Wind Energy Association annual marine conference in London,
today.
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