Rip Power  

I mentioned ocean energy company Atlantis recently, who are doing some trials in Victoria's Corio Bay - both the Geelong Advertiser and The Age have reports on developments.

A SINGAPORE-BASED company is set to install two tidal turbines in The Rip off Queenscliff in a world first. The Solon turbine, a deep-water turbine suitable for installation in fast flowing currents, has not been installed anywhere in the world. It has the potential to power about 1000 houses.

Atlantis Power Resources has been testing the unit in Corio Bay and initial tests have proved successful. Chief executive officer Tim Cornelius said the company had spent two years developing the top secret project and had begun talks with authorities on applying for a permit. "Queenscliff has an excellent concentration of tidal flow so it is an ideal spot," he said.

When placed in ocean and river currents, the turbine transforms the kinetic energy from the moving water, and converts it into commercial quantities of AC or DC electricity. The power can then be fed directly into the grid.

The "tidal farms" have a 20-year life span and if approved, can be installed and operational within 30 days.

WITH Europe aiming to generate a fifth of its energy from renewable technologies by 2020, and the UK hoping to contribute a tenfold increase in energy it generates this way, to 15 per cent, a green vision has been set for the next decade.
The government is consulting industry and planners, and the Renewable Energy Strategy (RES), due for publication next year, will set out the route-map for this green transformation.

There are three energy types to consider – electricity, heat and transport – each with different technologies and demand. For example, renewable electricity is relatively established, but, renewable heat and transport has almost no installed capacity.

To meet our 15 per cent target, we need to ensure each sector grows considerably. The RES suggests increases of 32 per cent of electricity (from less than 5 per cent today), 14 per cent in heat (1 per cent today) and 10 per cent transport (under 1 per cent today)If we do not meet one sector target, we will need to exceed in another, or trade carbon with other countries.

"Whilst we were burning North Sea oil, Germany were building the wind turbines, and Scandinavian countries were building biofuel wood burners," explains Jason Ormiston, the chief executive of trade association Scottish Renewables,

But he is positive about Scottish renewables industries: "With the certainty of renewable energy targets in the RES, businesses will plan the finance, resources, and production they need," he says.

"This will be good news for Scotland, which is a leader in manufacturing wave and tidal technologies, and offshore engineering. Based on the evidence of the government's support of wind-generated electricity, I believe we could transform the way we generate heat and power transport."