Renewables for Subsea Power (RSP) 10 kW demonstrator project near Orkney, operational for 12 months, which battery storage on the seafloor. Shell joins the project after TotalEnergies did so earlier.
[rechargenews.com] – Shell joins plan to turn wave energy into underwater power
[marinetechnologynews.com] – TotalEnergies Joins Wave Powered Subsea Project
[source]
Solar, wind and wave power from a single offshore platform? That’s the holy grail of renewable energy, and one that has not yet been achieved at commercial scale. All of that may be about to change though, as a German company called Sinn Power goes to market with their hybrid solar, wind and wave offshore platform design.
[sinnpower.com] – Company site
[YouTube] – Sinn Power video channel
Deutsche Welle English language documentary.
YouTube text:
It’s estimated that we could (practically) capture enough tidal energy to power all homes in the United States TWICE over – but we can only manage a tiny fraction of that right now. For a planet that is 70% water, why is this technology still so far behind other renewables? Are things about to change?
We’re destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn’t need to be this way. Our new channel Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. Every Friday we’ll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.
German language video
In the Shetland Islands, the extraction of oil and gas has traditionally been one of the most important sources of income and one of the most important employers. Therefore the “carbon footprint” of the islands is three times as high as in the rest of Great Britain. Last year, however, the Shetlanders declared a climate crisis and they are focusing on renewable energies. There are even the first filling stations where electrical energy is obtained directly and exclusively from the tidal range.
The Orbital O2 is a floating 2MW tidal turbine that began generating power for the UK grid in July 2021. It is currently the most powerful tidal turbine in the world and is anchored in the Fall of Warness off Eday, Orkney Islands. It consists of a floating platform supporting 2 submersed nacelles rated 1MW each. The turbines are bi-directional, producing on both a rising and falling tide. With a 2MW output, it can produce enough electricity for 2000 homes per year.
[electrek.co] – The world’s most powerful tidal turbine
[wikipedia.org] – Orbital O2
[deepresource] – Orbital O2 – World’s Largest Tidal Turbine Launched
The tide is turning on tidal energy. On April 22, the Orbital O2 was launched near the Orkney Islands, north of mainland Scotland. After solar energy, the way is now cleared for lunar energy. Tidal power already existed in harnessed form, where tidal water is captured behind doors at high tide and gradually released before the next tide. The largest examples of that can be found in Korea’s Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Plant or the Rance Tidal Power Station in France.
The Orbital O2 is a 2 MW torpedo-like structure, fixed to an anchor in waters with steady strong currents. With water having a density of 800 times that of air, the rotor can be significantly smaller than with wind turbines. And since it floats, no huge monopile is required either, just a chain. These machines can be used at water depths, where no monopile-based wind power is possible.
[newatlas.com] – Orbital launches O2, the “most powerful tidal turbine in the world”
According to Forbes:
German startup Sinn Power has developed a modular maritime platform able to generate renewable energy from waves, wind and solar sources. Starting later this summer, it hopes to offer solar panel manufacturers the chance to test and demonstrate photovoltaic arrays on a floating platform off the Greek coast as part of an off-grid energy solution.
PV-magazine:
It’s feasible that wave energy equipment can be made reliable, just as the offshore drilling industry has demonstrated with its hardware – but it’s very expensive. The sector was non-competitive 20 years ago and is even less competitive now, with the advent of cheap natural gas, offshore wind, and onshore solar.
Our attitude: we wish them success, but our money remains on traditional offshore wind in NW-Europe and large solar arrays in sunny countries.
[sinnpower.com] – Company site
[forbes.com] – First Floating Ocean Hybrid Platform Can Generate Power From Waves, Wind And Solar
[pv-magazine.com] – Solar arrays on wave energy generators, along with wind turbines
[cleantechnica.com] – German Company Combines Wind, Wave, & Solar Power In One System
[Google Maps] – Test location: breakwater wall in Iraklio, Crete, Greece.
[odp-group.com] – video, short overview
[odp-group.com] – Ocean Dynamic Power, pdf, 24p.
DeepResource 