We need this dense energy in units of a fairly small scale to fix a big GHG issue! I am leading somewhere….. See if you agree!
In this post:
A little history….,
One project that is modular is: ECO WAVE Power
One of the gargantuan projects: WaveShips
We can take some things from the oil&gas industry……
Wait a minute! Let’s back up….,
This OPT Buoy might work in a moon pool to retrofit ships?
Why ships of the future will run on electricity
…a list at the bottom of other posts about wind and waves.
Wave Power
Wave power is massive & constant.
Scaled Energy Density Comparison
Wave power is quite simply massive. Solar power needs sunny weather to operate at maximum and wind needs wind. But the ocean is always moving and the density of the energy available to harvest is far higher. https://catalysthunter.com/mining/she/acquisition-breakthrough-wave-energy-technology/
Wave-energy generation is not [yet] a widely employed commercial technology compared to other established renewable energy sources. There have been attempts to use this source of energy due to its high power density. As a comparison, the power density of the photovoltaic panels is 1 kW/m2 at peak solar insolation, and the power density of the wind is 1 kW/m2 at 12 m/s. Whereas, the average annual power density of the waves at e.g. San Francisco coast is 25 kW/m2.
In 2000 the world’s first commercially oriented Wave Power Device, the Islay LIMPET was installed on the coast of Islay in Scotland and connected to the UK National power Grid.
Oscillating Water Column (OWC)
An oscillating water column uses a large volume of moving water as a piston in a cylinder. Air is forced out of the column as a wave rises and fresh air is drawn in as the wave falls. This movement of air turns a weir turbine at the top of the column.
This report is copywrite 2010: The osillating water column creates 500 kW of power and is working reliably.
Pelamis Wave Power – also generated electricity to a national grid
Founded in 1998, Edinburgh-based Pelamis Wave Power (PWP) manufactured and operated Pelamis wave energy converters.
In 2004, Pelamis Wave Power demonstrated their first full-scale prototype, the P1, at EMEC’s wave test site at Billia Croo, Scotland. The device was 120m long, 3.5m in diameter and comprised four tube sections. Pelamis is a 180m long machine consisting of five tubes, that floats semi-submerged on the ocean surface. As waves move down the length of the machine, this movement is resisted by hydraulic cylinders at each of the tube joints. These cylinders pump fluid into high pressure accumulators, which allow electricity generation to be smooth and continuous. They went on to produce more prototypes that were tested in Scotland and Portugal.
A little Wave Power history….
Earth Institute, Columbia University
2017 – Humans have been trying to harness ocean energy for centuries, beginning with a French engineer named Pierre-Simon Girard in 1799. If harnessed, wave energy could produce 20,000 to 80,000 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity, according to the International Energy Agency. That is more than the world’s current energy consumption of almost 20,000 TWh …
… Various attempts at ocean energy have been attempted and shelved. In Portugal, one of the world’s first commercial wave power plant closed in 2009 because it was too difficult to maintain. A small experimental osmotic power plant in Tofte, Norway, shut down in 2014 because it was not economically feasible. Ocean Power Technologies, a company developing wave energy, had planned a large-scale wave power project off the coast of Oregon in 2014 but could not raise enough money.
[However, Ocean Power Technology OPT, perservered and developed a wave energy Buoy that is already in use around the world.]
OPT should find other markets besides Oil&Gas!
Science and Research
We are underway to map the oceans for more understanding of climate change, ecosystem health, fish stocks, energy resources, and weather patterns.
So, there are success stories and, now, lots of people are working on more wave energy projects……..
Ocean Energy Systems , organised under International Energy Agency (IEA)
Waves
Kinetic energy associated with waves can be harnessed with modular technologies.
The possibility of converting wave energy into usable energy has inspired numerous inventors: more than one thousand patents had been registered by 1980 and the number has increased markedly since then. …
…Unlike large wind turbines, there is a wide variety of wave energy technologies, resulting from the different ways in which energy can be absorbed from the waves, and also depending on the water depth and on the location (shoreline, near-shore, offshore). Recent reviews identified about one hundred projects at various stages of development. The number does not seem to be decreasing: new concepts and technologies replace or outnumber those that are being abandoned.
Most of these are big projects in order to contribute to large electricity grids….
What about small ideas? The idea is all the same: the physical energy of the waves is converted to mechanical energy which is converted into electric energy. So what about modular?
One project that is seeing a surge in interest and is modular is:
ECO WAVE Power
ECOWVE (formerly EWP) Eco Wave Power is recognized as a “Pioneering Technology” by the Israel’s Ministry of Energy and was labelled as an “Efficient Solution” by the Solar Impulse Foundation. Furthermore, Eco Wave Power’s project in Gibraltar has received funding from the European Union Regional Development Fund and from the European Commission’s HORIZON2020 framework program. The company was also recently recognized by the United Nations in receiving the “Climate Action Award”, which was granted to the company during COP25 in Madrid, Spain.
The Eco Wave Power share (ECOWVE) is traded on Nasdaq First North Growth Market.
Cost efficient, reliable technology
>Easy to build and operate, due to its’ accessible location on land. In addition, low costs of maintenance and connection to the grid, due to proximity to grid connection points.
>Fully modular and scalable.
>Cost-efficient – construction and production costs per KWh are highly competitive, and the forecasted levelized cost for energy (LCOE) for commercial scale installation will be around EUR 42 per MWh (SEK 0.45/KWh). The Company has several patents in place and additional applications pending, putting strong focus on IP development and protection.
>Fully insurable – current damage protection coverage provided by global reputable insurance companies.
>No adverse environmental impact – due to the connection of the system to mostly existent man-made structures. Already existing structures (e.g. pier, jetties and breakwaters) are becoming a source of clean electricity.
Approximate Global Distribution of Wave Power Levels
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the oceans potentially hold twice the amount of energy the world produces today and the potential global energy production from waves is estimated to amount to 29,500 TWh of electricity.
The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that by using only 2 per cent of the world’s 800,000 kilometres of coastline which exceed a wave power density of 30 kW/m, the global technical potential for wave energy is about 500GW of electrical energy, based on a conversion efficiency of 40 per cent.
Waves are created by the action of winds passing over the surface of the ocean. Wave heights (and thus energy) are greatest in the sub-equatorial regions where the trade winds (such as the ‘Roaring Forties’) are strong and blow consistently in the same direction over long distances (Fig. 26.1).
In addition to the geographic variability indicated by Fig. 26.1, there are also seasonal and shorter-term variabilities in wave regimes, brought about by weather systems. In the higher latitude areas, background wave regimes may be sufficient to permit almost continuous generation. … waves are essentially integrated wind energy, which are thus more predictable than winds. Wave energy farms may produce more forecastable energy, thus enabling project developers to secure higher prices for their produced power.
One of the gargantuan projects:
Protean Wave Technology Limited
Re-using Ships for Wave Energy captured offshore to connect to the grid.
Dozens of moon pools could be cut into the hull of a repurposed oil tanker to turn it into a mobile power station
Generates Power, Water, and Clean Gases offshore from the World’s Oceans
The WaveShip has the capability to capture the the optimum wave density in any offshore location, convert the energy, store it, and transport it back to shore for use.
We can take some things from the oil&gas industry……
Could old oil tankers be repurposed as clean energy power plants?
The hole is in the centre of the ship, directly below the derrick. It’s called a “moon pool” and is an essential part of our drilling operations. The drill pipe hangs from the top of the derrick, passes through this hole, into the ocean and all the way down to the seafloor.
We asked JR Operations Superintendent Steve Midgley how he’d explain this concept to a 10 year old. Simple, he replied, just think of an inner tube. It’s got a hole in the middle but doesn’t sink. Even if you push it down, it won’t sink. In fact, it will probably pop back up and hit you in the face!
Wait a minute! Let’s back up….
What if these moon pools were produced with a kind of energy converter from physical to mechanical energy – up&down – on a small scale ….just enough to retro-fit every ship on the seas!
no need – at all – for other fuel!
A Worldwide
Electric Shipping Industry !
NET ZERO!!!
Inventors, Entrepreneurs, Innovators, Ladies & Gentlemen with the creative knowhow and ideas!
per ship
WAVE POWER RETROFIT UNITS
HUGE DEMAND!
We can take some things from the oil&gas industry……
Can we take this Buoy that looks like it would work in a moon pool and get a retrofit unit designed (like the wave ships) to convert small ships to electric power? Maybe even big ships. Just like retrofitting a car from gas to CNG.
PB3 POWERBUOY® – An Autonomous Solution for Persistent Power
The PB3 is specifically targeted to the ocean observing market needs, and delivers a continuous reliable power of 350 Watts for instruments, data analysis, telecommunication, and data transmission to shore. The stability of OPT’s spar and float design minimizing pitch and roll provides an exceptional platform for mounting directionally sensitive sensors or transmitters. As demonstrated in prior ocean tests, the buoy maintained a relatively vertical orientation of 10 – 15 degrees off vertical during storm waves.
Why ships of the future will run on electricity
December 2018 – … China has the first fully electric container ship – initially as a trial on Pearl River in Southern China. It is planned only for use on inland waterways, as the ship can travel a distance of just 80 kilometers. The 1,000 lithium-ion batteries on board weigh 26 tons and achieve 2,400 kilowatt hours. Norway is also working on an electric container ship: From the early 2020’s, the “Birkeland” will transport chemicals and fertilizer from the plants of manufacturer Yara to the port in Brevik. The company uses trucks for this at present – around 40,000 trips per year. The ship will transport 120 containers.
Dutch company Port-Liner is also building fully electric cargo ships. They will sail on inland waterways, including to Rotterdam port. They can travel for 34 hours on one battery charge. The batteries are in containers that are simply exchanged at the port, which means that they do not have to be charged immediately. Port-Liner plans to produce 15 electric ships for the Netherlands and Belgium in the coming years.
Let’s use the waves from wind that are getting stronger and stronger!
Look at planet EARTH right now! >>> https://earth.nullschool.net/
Wave Power
posts about wind, waves and Retrofits / emissions renovations…..
I Say The Future Is VERTICAL Axis Wind Turbines!
WIND POWER Back Down To Earth – VAWT
Shipping’s Carbon Footprint – Your Small Business >> Your Vote
Wave Power Is Very Very “Energy Dense”!
Climate Retrofits On Land Or At Sea
Urban Energy Retrofits For Existing Buildings
CLEAN AIR – IS, ALREADY – IN OUR GRASP!
Be Glad to assist you find the information you need, if you have ideas you want to work on …….