J. J. Sietas KG of Hamburg is the first German shipyard to build an installation vessel for the erection of offshore wind farms. Siemens Marine Solutions will supply the ship’s diesel-electric propulsion
Seattle based naval architectural and engineering consultancy Glosten Associates, Inc. has announced plans to commercialize its PelaStar floating wind turbine platform, and make the technology available to the offshore wind energy industry
The Cape Wind project is another step nearer to getting its Nantucket Sound offshore wind farm project into the construction phase. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said yesterday that BOEMRE has
Damen Shipyards, Gorinchem, Netherlands, is currently finalizing the first “Twin Axe” catamaran designed to provide a wide range of support services tooffshore wind farms in the widest sense. It says that its
Fishermen’s Energy reports that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJ DEP”) has issued the major environmental permits to build its demonstration-scale six turbine Fishermen’s Atlantic City Windfarm to be located
China’s COSCO (Nantong) Shipyard Group Co., Ltd. has commissioned Siemens Marine Solutions to equip a new wind turbine installation vessel with diesel electric propulsion systems, power supply equipment and an integrated automation
BMT Nigel Gee Ltd. has signed a design and development contract for the construction of an initial batch of four wind farm support catamarans. They are to be built by VeKa Shipbuilding
Using an approach that it says has helped get solar energy projects started on public lands in the West, the Department of the Interior is launching what it calls a “Smart from
New York’s plans for offshore renewable energy are moving along. Yesterday, BOEMRE held its first offshore renewable energy task force meeting in partnership with New York’s Office of the Governor. The task
Neptune, based in North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, England, has successful completed a series of rigorous in-water tests on the full-scale demonstrator of its Proteus NP1000 tidal stream power generator, it is now seeking a trade partner, which could be a shipyard or heavy engineering concern, who can demonstrate the capability to fabricate and build future production devices.
Weighing more than 150 tonnes and 20 m in length with a beam of 14 m, the Proteus NP1000 consists of steel buoyancy hulls, a vertically mounted turbine with a 6 m x 6 m rotor, and computer controlled flow vanes within a venturi duct.
Despite its size, the floating pontoon design means that the Proteus is largely unobtrusive when deployed, with more than 80 per cent of its bulk always hidden from view under the water. This low environmental footprint has now been approved by the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Test data indicate that when optimized for the tidal stream the Proteus NP1000 will be able generate at least 1,000 MWh/year. To put this into context the projected output would be enough to meet the energy needs of more than five hundred homes.
The recent tests included the powering-up and generation of electricity as proof of the commercial potential of the device’s power curve. Tow testing was carried out in three phases during August, September and October in Hull’s Albert Dock. The third set of experiments provided the final, critical, “proof of concept” hurdle and the device will now be prepared for commercial deployment in early 2011 at Sammy’s Point in the Humber.
Commented Nigel Petrie, Chairman, Neptune Renewable Energy Ltd (NREL): “We are delighted to have successfully come through the in-water testing phase for the Proteus Demonstrator which paves the way for the device to be commissioned shortly and installed, with the first electricity delivered in 2011. Having reached this key milestone, at Neptune we are now looking to identify a trade partner who is able to demonstrate that they have capability to work with us to manufacture and deliver future devices.”
Mr. Petrie said the company is also seeking equity providers to work with in order to help fund a series of arrays of the tidal stream power generators which are planned for the Humber in 2011 and 2012.
You can email Neptune at [email protected]
