11 September 2009 -New investment to focus on finding innovative and cost-effective ways to install and maintain large-scale offshore devices
The Carbon Trust is to support two cutting edge marine energy devices in a bid to accelerate the commercial development of wave and tidal energy in the UK. Projects to be supported through the Marine Energy Accelerator with Pelamis Wave Power and Marine Current Turbines will focus on installation and maintenance which currently account for up to 50% of the project costs of wave and tidal energy and could delay more widespread deployment if not reduced.
Reliably moving a 180 metre Pelamis electricity-generating “sea snake” onto a mooring many kilometres offshore is a task that highlights the challenges of making marine energy a commercially viable method of generating renewable energy. The Carbon Trust and Pelamis Wave Power are investigating an innovative remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that will assist with manoeuvring these giant machines into position.
They will also integrate remote control technology into existing systems which will enable deployment in rougher seas. These developments promise to significantly reduce vessel and equipment requirements and make installation and maintenance quicker, cheaper and safer, thereby reducing the overall cost of the energy generated.
Alongside work with Pelamis Wave Power, the Carbon Trust is supporting a project with Marine Current Turbines to develop an innovative way to deploy its pioneering SeaGen tidal energy system. The new method will involve a remotely operated subsea drilling platform which will install foundation piles in advance of the main turbine support structure being deployed in a single unit. This would enable smaller and less expensive support vessels to be used for the offshore works, reducing the costs of turbine installation.
Carbon Trust is providing £250,000 for the Pelamis project and a further £150,000 for a feasibility study on the MCT foundations technology. The MCT technology is likely to be tested in a disused quarry, and if it performs as expected will be used in SeaGen’s next deployment off Anglesey where the company is working with RWE npower renewables to deploy a 10MW tidal farm, using seven SeaGens.
These two projects form part of the wider Carbon Trust’s Marine Energy Accelerator programme, which brings together device developers, component technology manufacturers, engineering consultants and academic research groups to accelerate cost reduction in the industry.
Mark Williamson, Director of Innovations at the Carbon Trust, said:
“Innovation in the deployment and maintenance of wave and tidal devices will be critical in cutting the cost of marine energy and unlocking the potential of this fantastic renewable energy resource. Our analysis shows that the UK is already leading the world in wave energy. If we can bring down the costs of deploying this technology, we will be able to generate marine energy on a scale that will help meet our 2020 renewable target and deliver significant economic value as well."
Energy from wave and tidal power could provide up to 20% of the UK’s current electricity and has the potential to cut carbon dioxide by tens of millions of tonnes. Recent analysis, launched at the start of the Carbon Trust’s Clean Tech Revolution campaign, to make Britain a global hub of low carbon innovation, found that 25% of the world’s wave technologies are already being developed in the UK. The analysis also showed that Britain could be the ‘natural owner’ of the global wave power market, generating revenues worth £2 billion per year by 2050 and up to 16,000 direct jobs.
Beth Dickens of Pelamis Wave Power said:
“This project will allow more machines to be installed more often and more cheaply as we will not be as reliant on good weather conditions and specialist boats for the operation. We have had a successful working relationship with the Carbon Trust for a long time, so they were a natural port of call for help in developing this technology which will help speed the deployment of our wave power devices.”
Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines, said:
“The Carbon Trust’s support is highly valuable to Marine Current Turbines and will help us to build upon our success with our first SeaGen commercial tidal turbine project in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough which is generating power into the local grid.
“Their participation in this project has enabled us to look at how we can install farms of our SeaGen tidal energy systems cheaper and more efficiently in the future. The Carbon Trust’s part-funding of the project underlines the commercial potential that exists for MCT’s pioneering tidal energy technology to be deployed in UK waters as well as overseas.”
Ends
Notes to editors
For more information or an interview please call the Carbon Trust press office on 0207 544 3100.
The Carbon Trust
* The Carbon Trust is an independent company set up in 2001 by Government in response to the threat of climate change, to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by working with organisations to reduce carbon emissions and develop commercial low carbon technologies.
* We cut carbon emissions now by providing business and the public sector with expert advice, finance and certification to help them reduce their carbon footprint and to stimulate demand for low carbon products and services. Through our work, we’ve already helped save over 17 million tonnes of carbon, delivering costs savings of over £1billion.
* We cut future carbon emissions by developing new low carbon technologies. We do this through project funding and management, investment and collaboration and by identifying market barriers and practical ways to overcome them. Our work on commercialising new technologies will save over 20 million tonnes of carbon a year by 2050.
Marine Current Turbines Ltd
1. Marine Current Turbines Ltd (http://www.marineturbines.com/) is based in Bristol, England. The company was established in 2000 and its principal corporate shareholders include BankInvest, ESB International, EDF Energy, Guernsey Electricity and Triodos Bank. In September 2008, MCT was ranked in The Guardian/Library House Top 10 of European clean-tech firms and in June 2009 won Renewable Energy Developer of the Year in the UK Renewable Energy Association Annual Awards.
2. SeaGen works by generating power from sea currents, using a pair of axial flow turbines driving generators through gearboxes using similar principles to wind generator technology. The main difference is that the high density of seawater compared to wind allows a much smaller system; SeaGen has twin 600kW turbines each of 16m diameter. The capture of kinetic energy from a water current, much like with wind energy or solar energy, depends on how many square meters of flow cross-section can be addressed by the system. With water current turbines it is rotor swept area that dictates energy capture capability, because it is the cross section of flow that is intercepted which matters. SeaGen has over 400 square meters of rotor area which is why it can develop its full rated power of 1.2MW in a flow of 2.4m/s (5 knots).
For further information:
Martin Wright, Managing Director,
T: +44 (0)117 979 1888
or
Paul Taylor, Taylor Keogh Communications
T: +44 (0) 203 170 8465 / DDI: +44 (0)203 170 8466
M: +44 (0)7966 782611
E: paul@taylorkeogh.com
W: http://www.taylorkeogh.com
The Carbon Trust is to support two cutting edge marine energy devices in a bid to accelerate the commercial development of wave and tidal energy in the UK. Projects to be supported through the Marine Energy Accelerator with Pelamis Wave Power and Marine Current Turbines will focus on installation and maintenance which currently account for up to 50% of the project costs of wave and tidal energy and could delay more widespread deployment if not reduced.
Reliably moving a 180 metre Pelamis electricity-generating “sea snake” onto a mooring many kilometres offshore is a task that highlights the challenges of making marine energy a commercially viable method of generating renewable energy. The Carbon Trust and Pelamis Wave Power are investigating an innovative remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that will assist with manoeuvring these giant machines into position.
They will also integrate remote control technology into existing systems which will enable deployment in rougher seas. These developments promise to significantly reduce vessel and equipment requirements and make installation and maintenance quicker, cheaper and safer, thereby reducing the overall cost of the energy generated.
Alongside work with Pelamis Wave Power, the Carbon Trust is supporting a project with Marine Current Turbines to develop an innovative way to deploy its pioneering SeaGen tidal energy system. The new method will involve a remotely operated subsea drilling platform which will install foundation piles in advance of the main turbine support structure being deployed in a single unit. This would enable smaller and less expensive support vessels to be used for the offshore works, reducing the costs of turbine installation.
Carbon Trust is providing £250,000 for the Pelamis project and a further £150,000 for a feasibility study on the MCT foundations technology. The MCT technology is likely to be tested in a disused quarry, and if it performs as expected will be used in SeaGen’s next deployment off Anglesey where the company is working with RWE npower renewables to deploy a 10MW tidal farm, using seven SeaGens.
These two projects form part of the wider Carbon Trust’s Marine Energy Accelerator programme, which brings together device developers, component technology manufacturers, engineering consultants and academic research groups to accelerate cost reduction in the industry.
Mark Williamson, Director of Innovations at the Carbon Trust, said:
“Innovation in the deployment and maintenance of wave and tidal devices will be critical in cutting the cost of marine energy and unlocking the potential of this fantastic renewable energy resource. Our analysis shows that the UK is already leading the world in wave energy. If we can bring down the costs of deploying this technology, we will be able to generate marine energy on a scale that will help meet our 2020 renewable target and deliver significant economic value as well."
Energy from wave and tidal power could provide up to 20% of the UK’s current electricity and has the potential to cut carbon dioxide by tens of millions of tonnes. Recent analysis, launched at the start of the Carbon Trust’s Clean Tech Revolution campaign, to make Britain a global hub of low carbon innovation, found that 25% of the world’s wave technologies are already being developed in the UK. The analysis also showed that Britain could be the ‘natural owner’ of the global wave power market, generating revenues worth £2 billion per year by 2050 and up to 16,000 direct jobs.
Beth Dickens of Pelamis Wave Power said:
“This project will allow more machines to be installed more often and more cheaply as we will not be as reliant on good weather conditions and specialist boats for the operation. We have had a successful working relationship with the Carbon Trust for a long time, so they were a natural port of call for help in developing this technology which will help speed the deployment of our wave power devices.”
Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines, said:
“The Carbon Trust’s support is highly valuable to Marine Current Turbines and will help us to build upon our success with our first SeaGen commercial tidal turbine project in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough which is generating power into the local grid.
“Their participation in this project has enabled us to look at how we can install farms of our SeaGen tidal energy systems cheaper and more efficiently in the future. The Carbon Trust’s part-funding of the project underlines the commercial potential that exists for MCT’s pioneering tidal energy technology to be deployed in UK waters as well as overseas.”
Ends
Notes to editors
For more information or an interview please call the Carbon Trust press office on 0207 544 3100.
The Carbon Trust
* The Carbon Trust is an independent company set up in 2001 by Government in response to the threat of climate change, to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by working with organisations to reduce carbon emissions and develop commercial low carbon technologies.
* We cut carbon emissions now by providing business and the public sector with expert advice, finance and certification to help them reduce their carbon footprint and to stimulate demand for low carbon products and services. Through our work, we’ve already helped save over 17 million tonnes of carbon, delivering costs savings of over £1billion.
* We cut future carbon emissions by developing new low carbon technologies. We do this through project funding and management, investment and collaboration and by identifying market barriers and practical ways to overcome them. Our work on commercialising new technologies will save over 20 million tonnes of carbon a year by 2050.
Marine Current Turbines Ltd
1. Marine Current Turbines Ltd (http://www.marineturbines.com/) is based in Bristol, England. The company was established in 2000 and its principal corporate shareholders include BankInvest, ESB International, EDF Energy, Guernsey Electricity and Triodos Bank. In September 2008, MCT was ranked in The Guardian/Library House Top 10 of European clean-tech firms and in June 2009 won Renewable Energy Developer of the Year in the UK Renewable Energy Association Annual Awards.
2. SeaGen works by generating power from sea currents, using a pair of axial flow turbines driving generators through gearboxes using similar principles to wind generator technology. The main difference is that the high density of seawater compared to wind allows a much smaller system; SeaGen has twin 600kW turbines each of 16m diameter. The capture of kinetic energy from a water current, much like with wind energy or solar energy, depends on how many square meters of flow cross-section can be addressed by the system. With water current turbines it is rotor swept area that dictates energy capture capability, because it is the cross section of flow that is intercepted which matters. SeaGen has over 400 square meters of rotor area which is why it can develop its full rated power of 1.2MW in a flow of 2.4m/s (5 knots).
For further information:
Martin Wright, Managing Director,
T: +44 (0)117 979 1888
or
Paul Taylor, Taylor Keogh Communications
T: +44 (0) 203 170 8465 / DDI: +44 (0)203 170 8466
M: +44 (0)7966 782611
E: paul@taylorkeogh.com
W: http://www.taylorkeogh.com
