Wind Energy and renewable energy blog

Major potential for wave and tidal energy near Alaska & Hawaii

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released two reports detailing the country’s ocean wave and tidal resource energy potential. Mapping and Assessment of the United States Ocean Wave Energy Resource report is a follow-up to the Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI) 2004 study, with the most recent evidence suggesting a 26 percent increase in wave energy resources.

The Assessment of Energy Production Potential from Tidal Streams in the United States, led by researchers at Georgia Tech Research Corporation in collaboration with DOE, is the first of its kind in the U.S. and includes a geographic information systems (GIS) tool available for public use. The report data concludes that U.S. water power resources, including ocean wave, tidal and conventional hydropower, have the potential to provide 15 percent of the U.S’s electricity by 2030.

Who is behind The Renewable Energy Foundation?

Despite their name and mission statement, the Renewable Energy Foundation have once again been active in attempting to discredit the wind energy sector. Their declaration that they promote “sustainable development for the benefit of the public by means of energy conservation and the use of renewable energy” has been called into question, with an Energy and Environmental Management article summarising that “the REF is a front for the interests of biofuels companies, energy-intensive industries and even oil and gas companies”.

UK Marine Energy Funding Under Threat

British renewable energy trade association RenewableUK is launching a campaign to urge the Government not to cut funding for Britain’s marine energy sector.

The ‘SeaPower’ campaign is being unveiled at the world’s largest wave and tidal energy conference and exhibition, which is being held in London this week. The keynote speaker is the Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, Greg Barker.

RenewableUK’s Wave and Tidal Development Manager, Oliver Wragg, said:

“Our new report, “Wave and Tidal Energy in the UK” shows that Britain has the opportunity to lead the world in developing the emerging marine energy industry. This sector has the potential to employ 10,000 people and generate revenues of nearly £4bn per year by 2020. The removal of £42 million of ring-fenced funding through the Marine Renewables Deployment Fund (MRDF) means that there will be no guaranteed support for the development of this technology from the end of March this year.”

Workhorse Tidal Turbine Built

The largest and most power tidal turbine ever has been unveiled by Austrailian company Atlantis.

The AK1000 was developed by Atlantis Resources Corporation in Iverngordon, Scotland. It is programmed for installation at the European Marine Energy Centre off Orkney later this year.

The turbine is rated at 1 Megawatt and is expected to produce enough electricity for the annual needs of 1000 homes. It has been specifically designed for the hostile north sea waters and is 22.5 metres high with an 18 metre rotor diameter. The low rotor speed has been designed to reduce marine life impacts.

Scotland Dubbed Potential Saudi Arabia of Marine Power

Scotland’s first Minister Alex Salmond has described Scottish waters as the Saudi Arabia of marine power in response to the announcement of a new marine project.

The Scottish Government has been working with The Crown Estate who owns the sea bed off Scotland and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Orkney Islands Council and Highland Council on the offshore marine project aimed at delivering 1.2 gigawatts (GW) electricity from sites off Caithness and Orkney.

Areas of seabed with potential for marine energy have now been leased by the Crown Estate to

US Provides Direct Funding for Renewable Energy

The US Treasury opened its doors to a scheme offering payments for renewable energy in lieu of tax credits today.

The initiative is designed to help energy generating businesses and was introduced via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009. The scheme was set up partly because of the nose-diving investor demand for tax credits. The tax credit system has to date been the US government favoured incentive for renewable energy projects.

£1 Billion Loans for UK Wind Energy Projects

The UK Government today announced plans to allocate £1 bn (US $1.6) of loans to wind energy companies through part – state owned banks.
After announcing that offshore wind energy would recieve double the financial incentives in the budget earlier this year, the Government has stepped in again to help smooth the path for struggling [...]

Dragon’s Den for Marine Energy

Marine renewable energy technologies are young but show much promise for the future. Although unlikely to be as commercially successful as wind energy in the short term, the profile of wave and tidal energy is likely to be much greater over the next few years.

The Carbon Trust told us several years ago that 20% of UK’s current electricity demands could be met by wave and tidal energy. The Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition says 252 million megawatt hours a year could be generated off the coast of the US and the World Energy Council has said 1 million gigawatt hours of wave energy hits Australian shores annually.