|
Embley Energy Ltd. a Bristol-based firm has received a £150,000 grant from the Carbon Trust’s applied research scheme to develop innovative new technology that uses floating concrete to harness the power of the waves. The two year project aims to demonstrate that Embley’s wave-energy convertor (WEC), called SPERBOY™, can compete with both fossil fuels and other renewable energy sources in terms of cost.
Research published by the Carbon Trust last year predicted that marine energy could provide 20% of the UK’s electricity needs. However, the costs of marine energy are currently higher than conventional and alternative sources of electricity. The SPERBOY™ has the potential to deliver low-cost renewable electricity, owing to its extended lifespan of more than 40 years, the innovative use of advanced laminated concrete in its construction and its low maintenance requirements.
The SPERBOY™ is based on the 'oscillating water column' principle. As the buoy moves up and down on the waves, air is displaced from a chamber within the buoy which then drives turbine-generators situated on top. Maintenance requirements are kept to a minimum due to a limited number of moving parts which are located above the sea’s surface making them more easily accessible.
The two-year development programme includes a series of wave-tank trials which will help to refine the design and prove the viability of using floating concrete in the structure. This programme will push the technology forward towards Embley’s aim of commercial production by 2015. At this point, the SPERBOY™ could be deployed in wave farm formations of up to 750 units covering an area of sea 15 km2.
Garry Staunton, Head of Low Carbon Research at the Carbon Trust, said: “Marine energy has the potential to provide a large proportion of the UK’s electricity needs. Embley Energy’s innovative use of advanced concrete construction methods is particularly exciting as it has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of wave-generated electricity. It is by supporting companies such as Embley Energy that we can tap into the massive energy resource that the sea offers.”
Michael Burrett of Embley Energy Ltd. said “The use of concrete for the main vessel will considerably increase the working life of the wave-energy converter and our design should deliver energy at a cost to compete with traditional forms of energy production. The support we have received from the Carbon Trust not only moves our project forward but also brings the realisation of a large-scale commercial marine energy resource ever nearer”
The Applied Research grant scheme is a flagship initiative run by the Carbon Trust to support innovative technologies which have the potential to reduce UK carbon emissions. The Carbon Trust is also supporting the development of marine renewable energy through its Marine Energy Accelerator (MEA) which launched in 2006. The project aims to accelerate progress in reducing the costs of wave and tidal stream energy technologies and bring forward the time when marine energy becomes cost-competitive so that significant carbon reductions are achieved.
Over the past four years, the Carbon Trust’s Applied Research scheme has granted more than £17 million to projects that have demonstrated their potential to develop into viable commercial technologies that could reduce UK carbon emissions. A new call for proposals to the Applied Research scheme will open on October 15 and applications can be made online.
|