IWEA
3 October 2008
Tidal Power and the ‘SeaGen’ Tidal Stream Turbine
An Overview
by Martin Wright
Managing Director
Marine Current Turbines Ltd
The Court, The Green,
Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS34 8PD, UK.
www.marineturbines.com
1
Why use marine currents?
1. Predictability - driven by gravity - not weather
2. High Load Factor (works on both the ebb and the flood tides)
3. Minimal environmental impact - and favourable ERoEI - <8mths
4. Modular technology - short construction lead time
5. Technical feasibility - rapid development is possible
San Bernardino Straits - The Philippines
shown running at 3.5m/s or 7 knots
Why Do It?
■
Significant Comparative Advantage

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Strong Market Drivers
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
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Best Resource in Europe for Wind, Wave & Tidal
Peak Oil
Security of Supply
EU Directive 15% of ALL Energy
Climate Change
Leading Technologies
Industrial Assets
Potential Tidal Current Energy Sites (Irish Sea)
Analysis of tidal flows was
difficult but new techniques
are making it easier.
This is a computer
generated model of the
entire Irish Sea tidal flow
regime at Spring Tide,
3hrs after HW Belfast
Scotland
N.I.
Belfast
Strangford
However only areas shown in
magenta (and ringed in blue)
have enough energy to be
useful
Wales
image courtesy Kirk McClure Morton
4
State of the Art = Tidal Stream Technology
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The Effect of Velocity Shear
Sea Level
Velocity
Power / Energy
75% of the Energy is
in the upper 50% of
the water column
Sea Bed
State-of-the-art: comparison of rotor sizes
Note: the swept area of the rotors governs the energy capture at any given location
Decentralised Marine RE Systems*:
What do we need for commercial success?
1. Scale – must be 1MW or more to be economic
2. Access – safe, affordable, reliable access for servicing
3. Reliability – need to minimise costly intervention
4. Life – several decades; otherwise not economic
… few technology developers are anywhere near to
delivering technology to fit these criteria
*
i.e. wave and tidal stream energy systems
9
Background: 15kW Tidal Current Turbine (1994-5)
PROOF OF CONCEPT PROJECT
(IT Power. Scottish Nuclear & NEL)
Loch Linnhe, Scotland
World’s first tidal current turbine
10
Seaflow installed
30 May 2003
operational
raised for access
rotor dia. 11m
rated power 300kW
pile dia. 2.1m
water depth 24m  5m
11
Seaflow:
What has ‘worked’
the basic concept
 Axial flow rotor
 Marinised drive train
 Surface breaking monopile
 Structural integrity
 Low cost intervention
 No significant environmental
impact
12
SeaGen Prototype
Some key features:-
 2 x 600kW rotors:16m diameter
 installed on steel pile
 rotors and nacelles raised above
sea level for maintenance
 transformer and electrical
connection to grid in accessible
and visible housing at top of pile
 deployment in arrays or “farms”.
of hundreds of turbines
Gearbox, hub and generator
Seagen: Performance at Lynmouth & Strangford
Rotor assembly at H&W - 16m diameter - 2 x 600kW
Assembly at H&W - cross arm (above) pile (below)
Seagen - complete and ready for installation
at Harland & Wolff, Belfast - March 2007
Revised Jacket Foundation
■
Retain existing SeaGen
structure above the Mud-line
■
■
■
Create new Quadrapod
foundation
Install using a Crane Barge
Pin to seabed with Ø1m steel
piles, 8m-10m embedment
New Quadropod base for Seagen being fitted – Mar 2008
20
‘SeaGen’ arrives in Strangford Lough - April 2008
‘SeaGen’ positioned, ready for pinning to seabed
Construction Barge in Position
Drilling and Grouting Operations
SeaGen Raised
Marine Current Turbines Early Project Costs
Location
Rated
Power
(MW)
Capital
cost
(£k/MW)
Life Cycle
Unit cost
(p/kWh)
Strangford
1.2
5,191
16.8
Anglesey Skerries demo
10.5
2,537
11.7
Anglesey Skerries
Commercial
51.0
1,489
7.9
Anglesey Skerries if
developed fully
(after 500MW installed)
30.0
923
5.2
Cost projections from due diligence report by Black & Veatch 2006/8 in an independent assessment
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Cost of electricity generated - p/kWh
Cost of MCT technology
An
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Fa
ir
He
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An
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MCT Site Development Plan - Weighted Average Generation Cost
Cost of Offshore Wind
12.00
11.00
10.00
9.00
8.00
7.00
6.00
5.00
an indicator of cost-effectiveness
how many kWe per tonne of equipment?
Wave energy devices
MCT Seaflow tidal turbine
<< 1.0 kWe per tonne
~ 2.3 kWe per tonne
130t & 300kWe
MCT Seagen prototype
~ 3.1 kWe per tonne
390t & 1200kWe
Vestas V80 windturbine
offshore at North Hoyle
~ 3.4 kWe per tonne
590t & 2000kWe
MCT 2nd Generation
1000t & 5000kWe
~ 5.0 kWe per tonne
Commercialisation - The Next Stage
■
Requirements





Capital
Capability
Supply chain
Sites
Realistic and consistent market signals
Scotland and…………… the Rest….
Commercialisation - The Next Stage
■
The obstacles




Slow government progress - SEAs
Consents – Crown Estate
Unrealistic lease terms
Lack of Grid infrastructure
Competing for Capital……………??
Marine Current Turbines Ltd
http://www.marineturbines.com
tel: (+44 or 0) 117 979 1888
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