Shaft power plants should supply coupled desalination systems with energy
In recent years, there was also a wave energy industry in the context of alternative energy sources — despite all adversities. Although the technology can be relatively new and opposite not yet economically compete with technologies such as wind power, she enjoys growing popularity. Finally, the energy density of ocean waves go to the highest within the class of regenerative energy sources. Two Australian companies want to convert the connection of their know-how affordable sea water into drinking water.
Coarse treasures according to marine waves per year transport around ten million terawatt hours (TWH) energy, the potential for the contribution for the world energy market is scatuted on a magnitude of 2000 TWh per year — that corresponds approx. 10% of worldwide electric power generation. For energy generation, in addition to surface and tidal waves, marine transducations can be used.
Different projects have been conducting themselves worldwide for several decades with tidal and wave storage power plants. For wave power plants, design weakened by the coarse destruction force of the oceans (such as.B. Osprey 1, Wave Dragon) visible. In addition, difficulty in power generation during energy production During low waves, the flat-covering use of these facilities have so far fail — as well as fluctuating energy ideas of political decision-makers.
Among the different types of sea waves have the wind produced by the wind the highest energy concentrations. Once again, you can resume thousands of kilometers without losing much of your energy. In Kustenaufe, due to the interactions with the seabed, the energy intess is decreased. This energy scattering can be compensated by excursions such as reflection and refraction and energy concentrations ("hot spots") to lead. Irregularities in wave amplitude, phase and direction complicate the use of the energy of the waves. (Source)
The interest in the use of wave energy lost a cyclical up and down from enthusiasm, suspension and reputation in the last 30 years. Also in Europe there are wave force prospects. Studies for the Northeast Atlantic area estimated the resource "Wave performance" With 290 GW.
The worldwide average performance potential of waves, in kilowatts per meter wave comb, greatly simplified. Like other regenerative energy sources, the wave energy is distributed unevenly. An increased wave activity must be found in the middle width (30 ° — 60 °) of both earthholders. The distribution of the wave energy substantially corresponds to the distribution of wind energy. (Source)
The port Kembla wave power plant
Recently, the use of mereesence energy ranked as direct process energy for seawater salary systems in the focus of those skilled in the art. So also at Energetech Australia, where it is originally intended to generate favorable energy from wave force, but the now received partnership with the Australian desalination specialist H2Au continues and sees the immediate use of the energy gained for seawater density.
The plant should work in the coastal approach — the concurrent concentrated salt solution is returned far away from the land to the sea. The recovered drinking water is transported to the mainland in a pipeline. The backing of the concentrated salt solution can lead to environmental problems with low exchange rates (marine books, margins) with low exchange rates to environmental problems, z.B. At the Persian Gulf. The increased salt freight in turn increases the seawater desalination, so that there is an unexplained salt concentrate initiation from 2015 with problems in the drinking water supply.
The principle of oscillating water clear. Driven by the energy of the incoming shafts, electricity water through a opening under the sea level in a chamber. The water vacuum oscillates with the frequency of the waves and thus produces oscillating airflowers that drive a turbine in the upper chamber exhibition. Solutions for mature turbine technologies are considered crucial for the breakthrough in the commercialization of OWC power plants. (Source)
Energetech’s wave power plant, located 80 km sadly by Sydney near Port Kembla, serves the OWC principle (Oscillet Water Column — oscillating water sill in a pneumatic chamber). This has been established for a long time and today is considered standard technology (overview) to worldwide OWC power plants). In the small mob, it has been used for decades for the energy supply of Leuchtbojen (OWC buoys). Also in Europe there are OWC systems (Pico-OWC on the Azoren Island Pico with 400 kW, Limpet on Islay / Scotland with 500 kW). This power plant type is also available for integration in custody protection.
Port Kembla-wave power plant of Energetech, schematic. Source: Alain Clement, Pat McCullen, Antonio Falcao, Antonio Fiorentino, Fred Gardner, Karin Hammarlund, George Lemonis, Tony Lewis, Kim Nielsen, Simona Petroncini et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 6 (2002) 420 (Source)
The installed Deniss-Auld turbine (3kW), an alternative to the well-turbine already used in OWC aggregates, has a single sheet adjustment with comparatively low revolution numbers (500 revolutions per minute) as well as high torque — which is intended, among other things, the need Maternate from maintenance. A prere sensor measures the prere of each incoming wave on the chamber entrance and sends a prere-proportional voltage to a PLC (programable Logic Controller), which adapts various parameters to optimize turbine efficiency. The turbine is a key element for the efficiency of the entire system and must take account of the fact that the airflow does not occur with a constant speed from the same direction (compression / decompression).
The port Kembla-wave power plant of Energetech and JPKenny Ltd. is designed for operation in custodians. 36 meters long, 35 meters wide, mass: 485 tons. The construction steel construction is 200 meters in front of the breakwater of Port Kembla on the seabed anchored and should resist a storm that occurs once every one hundred years. Warming on both sides of the inlet aperture focus the energy of the waves in the OWC chamber. The resulting airflow drives the turbine at its high speed. Thus at least 500 MWh electro energy per year should be delivered. (Source)
The system feeds on site via 11 KV cable into the local network and will supply up to 500 households with electricity. However, part of the energy should be supplied to a coupled seawater salt system — energy is a main cost factor in seawater saliation methods. H2AU specializes in desalination systems for cruise ships and marine structures like olplatforms. By means of reverse osmosis in combination with the port Kembla wave power plant besides electricity with remaining subcapacitates 2.000 liters of drinking water per day are produced.
Recently performed tests give rise to more optimism according to company information: a full-grown copy could 1.500 households with electricity supply or provide 3 million liters of drinking water every day. In another step, Energetech and H2Au want to use the prere of the air in the pneumatic chamber printing of the air in the pneumatic chamber directly as a working prere for reverse osmosis. Thus, the lossy step of conversion into electrical energy, which then drives the pumps providing the working prere.
Energetech currently prevents projects in the United States, Spain and Great Britain next to Australia. The Australian government wants to 9 9.500 GWh removed additional energy from renewable sources — that corresponds to the needs of four million people (Mret — Mandatory Renewable Energy Target). Although the Port Kembla wave power plant is modest in this order,. Series production was printed on the price of $ 1.6 million and thus drove to a reasonable energy source, which can also compete with coal flow. Energetech expects an electricity price of around 5 US cents per kilowatt hour, the amortization period of a power plant should be at 100 years.
And even in Germany, the use of the energy of the sea waves will be talking about the use of the 1. German Meeresen Energy Forum, which in mid-January 2006 under the "Clean Energy Power 2006" takes place in the Berlin ICC.