by In about 40 meters (44 meters) water immersed in the Scottish coast, a turbine has been rotating for more than six years to use the power of ocean in electricity – a long -lasting brand that demonstrates the commercial viability of technology.
If you adhere to a large or network -like turbine in the rough sea environment, Long is a record that helps to pave the way for larger flood energy arms and, according to the Trade Association Ocean Energy Europe, makes it far more attractive. Tide energy projects would be unaffordable if the turbines had to be removed from the water every few years.
Tide energy technologies are still in the early days of their commercial development, but their potential to produce clean energy is great. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Marine Energy is a term that researchers generated from tides, currents, waves or temperature changes, the largest unusable energy source of renewable energies in the world.
The Meygen Tidal Energy Project off the coast of Scotland has four turbines, in which 1.5 megawatts are produced. On Thursday, the Swedish company SKF announced that its camps and seals had exceeded the 6 1/2-year mark on one of the turbines without needing unplanned or disruptive maintenance. It has been working closely with the industry of design and test for a decade.
Reaching six years in water with constant operations is a “very important milestone” that is a good sign for the future of tidal energy, said Rémi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe.
Scotland and the United Kingdom are global managers in flood energy. The Meygen website operated by Sae Renewables has been sending electricity into the network for about eight years.
There are very few flood energy projects that continuously generate electricity. Most were tests and demonstrations, said Andrea Copping, an expert in the development of renewable energies for renewable energies. Copping stated that there are still large hurdles to overcome before the flood energy can be adopted more often, e.g.
Nevertheless, the Scotland project seems to have dealt with the question of whether the turbines in sea water can last.
“I think they checked the boxes,” she said. “Because skeptics and also include investors and governments, said: ‘How about everything in the world will you use these things, especially for any time in this very difficult environment?’ And that is what I think you have proven.
It is very difficult to take one essentially a wind turbine that normally found on land and is under water, said Fraser Johnson, company and maintenance manager at Meygen. The record turbine should continue for at least another year before it has to come out of the water to maintain maintenance, he added.
The four turbines are located inside the Pentland Firth, a narrow channel between the Scottish mainland and the Stroma island, which is known for strong tidal currents. Tide energy systems need strong currents to make electricity efficient. Meygen plans to add 20 turbines in 2030 to generate more electricity after the necessary upgrades have ended in the power grid. After all, the location could contain up to 130 turbines that are more powerful today than those who are on site today.
The Meygen location is located in the open water, while a different type of tidal project contains the creation of a dam-like structure, which is referred to as a flood over tidal waters. With four turbines, Meygen is considered the largest flood energy project of its kind worldwide, said Johnson.
“It is a title that we don’t want. We want more, we want others,” he said. “Unfortunately, there are other difficulties to achieve what Meygen has achieved. But when we work with SKF, we will drive the industry ahead.”
___
Associated Press’s climate and environmental protection receives financial support from several private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the standards of AP for working with philanthropias, a list of supporters and financed coverage areas at Ap.org.
