New system generating electricity from tides

Underwater generators operating similar to wind turbines will likely be built and operated by 2010, before supplying electricity to the UK with the potential equivalent to a nuclear power plant.

The TidalStream system is designed to harness the abundance of strong tidal energy resources. Its author is John Armstrong, former technical director of Wind Energy Group at Taylor Woodrow construction company, and Mike Todman, former chief engineer of Rolls Royce Marine.

"If England recovers all the available tidal energy, it can meet about 20-40% of the total electricity demand," said marine engineer Julian Wolfram, who is about to become a visiting professor at Edinburgh University, commented.

The TidalStream power generation system, with a tubular float attached to 4 turbine generators.The buoy runs around a fixed base on the seabed to choose the place with the strongest flow.

According to Wolfram, several research groups are also investigating the potential of tidal power in hopes of contributing to the 20% national energy target provided by renewable energy in 2002. However, the work Installing and maintaining a system of underwater turbines under conditions of sea and deep water is both a technical and economic challenge.

Traditional designs often have to be anchored to the seabed with large, strong soles, preventing strong currents from spilling the system. This is both expensive and difficult to install.

Armstrong and Todman have developed a new system that can be placed in the deepest places where the flow is strongest, moving in flow to capture the most energy, and can be installed or maintained. Safe and economical without the need for cranes, barges or divers.

Each structure consists of four turbines attached to a tubular float. The water is filled into the buoy so that it sinks, just so that the top of the buoy is raised, pulling the turbines into the operating position.

A long arm connects the buoy with a heavy base on the seabed. This arm is designed to be able to move up and down, left and right, allowing turbines to drift to the position of the strongest tidal current.

When maintenance is needed, water will be pumped out of the float, causing the turbines to float to the surface, where they are removed for repair.

According to Armstrong, 300 sets of TidalStream can be installed on an area of ​​14 km ² of a strong ocean current, such as Pentland Firth, which separates Scotland from the Orkney Islands. They could generate 1,200 megawatts of electricity, enough to feed the living needs of millions of families.

Such a small turbine was tested on the Thames."The biggest challenge today may be the impact on shipping operations," Armstrong said.

T. An (according to Discovery)