The Potential of Tidal Energy for Small Island Developing States (and other states, as well)

The Potential of Tidal Energy for Small Island Developing States

(and other states, as well)

by Scott Anderson, PhD

Coordinator, The Tide-Energy Project Near the Mouth of the Amazon

Presentation made at CSD-15 May 2007; updated September 2009

The Potential of Tidal Energy for SIDS

There are four basic questions you may have about Tidal Energy:

1. Does my country have Tide-Energy potential?

2. Can Tidal Energy be captured in a simple, inexpensive way?

3. How can we evaluate our Tide-Energy potential?

4. Can we get technical assistance to make an initial evaluation?

1. Does my country have Tide-Energy potential?

Examine the map in the next slide and

determine if your country is in or along a red area

where there is more intense Tidal Energy.

If that is the case, you may have Tide-Energy potential

that can be evaluated easily and inexpensively.

The worldwide distribution of Tidal Energy

Asia

Africa

N. America

S. AmericaIndian Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

Red areasRed areas in the ocean have more intense Tidal in the ocean have more intense Tidal Energy. Energy.

On the map below, determine if your country is in or along a red area.

Indian Ocean:Indian Ocean: Comoros, Madagascar, Maldives, Seychelles. Comoros, Madagascar, Maldives, Seychelles.

Asia:Asia: China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Philippines, Vietnam. China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Philippines, Vietnam.

Pacific Ocean:Pacific Ocean: Fiji, Kiribati, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Fiji, Kiribati, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.

Central and South America:Central and South America: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Surinam. Guyana, Panama, Surinam.

Atlantic Ocean:Atlantic Ocean: Cape Verde. Cape Verde.

All coastal nationsAll coastal nations with tidal passes between coral reefs with tidal passes between coral reefs or offshore islands. or offshore islands.

These countries can receive significant benefits from Tidal Energy:

The worldwide distributionof Tidal Energy

2. Can Tidal Energy be captured in a simple, inexpensive way?

Schematic view of a standard, 3-blade Gorlov helical turbine mounted in a frame with a generator

Yes, with a helical turbine.

Features of the helical turbine

Operation of the helical turbine:

designed for hydroelectric applications in free-flowing water

does not require expensive dams that can harm the environment

operates in tidal, ocean, and river currents

rotates in the same direction regardless of the direction of the flow,

so it is ideal for tidal currents flowing in and flowing out

Features of the helical turbine

Requirements:

In order to generate electricity effectively with the helical turbine,

the flow of water at a site must be at least:

1.5 meters per second

In addition, the faster the current,

the more energy that can be captured.

This is very important !

Features of the helical turbine

But, does it work well? Yes, it is very efficient: 35%

And how much does it cost?

Small helical turbine blades are not currently available on the market for purchase.

Their availability and price are now under discussion with the manufacturer GCK/Lucid.

Disclaimer: the presenter has no financial interest whatsoever in that company or in the sale of these blades.

“If I can find a better technology, I will use it.”

Features of the helical turbine

The skilled carpenter and mechanic (above) and a local welder built all of the equipment necessary to mount the blades and generate electricity.

Easy to build

Features of the helical turbine

(a) special 6-blade helical turbine

(b) drive shaft, pulley, and belt

(c) automotive alternator to charge

batteries

A complete helical turbine generating system

Features of the helical turbine

About 80-90% of a Tide-Energy station can be built using locally available labor, materials, and equipment.

The technically refined helical turbine blades are the only outside components.

The total cost of a generating system would depend on both of these items.

Locally built:

Features of the helical turbine

Energy production: 120 Ampere-hours/day

That is sufficient to meet basic needs of 10 households

at World Bank standards for solar, rural electrification projects.

Benefits:

3. How can we evaluate our Tide-Energy potential?

Each Tidal Energy site has different characteristics that can affect

its usefulness. These include the shape of the coastline or

slope of the sea floor near the site, as well as its distance from

local populations who have a demand for energy.

Therefore, each Tidal Energy site should be evaluated individually.

Two important characteristics of a Tidal Energy site to evaluate are:

1) the location of the site in relation to the user of the energy

2) the measured speed, duration, and frequency of the tidal

current at the site

3. How can we evaluate our Tide-Energy potential?

Important: a Tide-Energy generation system stores energy in batteries. Because the capacity of batteries is limited, the batteries will probably have to be recharged every 3 to 7 days, if used by households for lighting and other domestic purposes. Also, the batteries themselves are heavy, so it may take an effort to transport them to a site to be recharged.

Step 1 – Select the better Tide-Energy sites

What is a “better” Tide-Energy site?

The better Tide-Energy sites will have fast tidal currents and be: close to users of the energy or convenient for users to reach, especially by boat,

because of the need to transport batteries to the site to be recharged.

3. How can we evaluate our Tide-Energy potential?

How can we select the better Tide-Energy sites?

use local knowledge

use maps and nautical charts

Persons with reliable knowledge of

(1) places with fast tidal currents and

(2) where people live in the surrounding area

may be able to select the better Tidal Energy sites merely with

the aid of maps and charts.

If so, Step 1 can be completed quickly and inexpensively

without the need for fieldwork to determine these features.

3. How can we evaluate our Tide-Energy potential?

Step 2 – Measure the tidal current at the better sites

There are three key measures to evaluate the tidal current at a site:

1) How fast? As stated above, the flow of water at a site should be at least 1.5 meters per second, or 3 knots.

2) How long? That flow should occur for at least 6 hours per day.

3) How often? Flow at that speed and for that time should occur on at least 14 days per monthly tide cycle.

What equipment do we need to measure the speed of the tidal current?

You can make useful measurements using very simple equipment.

3. How can we evaluate our Tide-Energy potential?

Necessary equipment:

(1) bottle weighted so only the neck is visible floating above the water;

(2) a line to attach securely to the bottle;

(3) a tape to measure the length of the line; and

(4) an inexpensive digital watch with a stopwatch feature.

1

2 3

4

3. How can we evaluate our Tide-Energy potential?

How is the speed of the tidal current measured and calculated?

From a fixed position:

(1) release the bottle into the current and

(2) count the number of seconds until the bottle reaches the end of the line.

Then calculate:

Length of the line in meters -------------------------------------- = meters per second Number of seconds

3. How can we evaluate our Tide-Energy potential?

How many measurements of the speed of the tidal current are needed?

Because the speed of the tidal current varies by day, week, and month, a number of measurements will be necessary to make an initial evaluation.

To make an initial evaluation of the tidal current at a site, the speed of the current should be measured at least:

every 15 minutes during a tide cycle (12 hours),

once a week,

for three months, beginning in either January, March, July, or September.

That would mean 13 days of measuring, spread over 3 months.

Is that do-able for you?

This would conclude Step 2.

3. How can we evaluate our Tide-Energy potential?

With this information it should be possible make

an initial evaluation of the Tide-Energy potential

of the site.

If one or more sites have sufficient Tide-Energy potential,

then it might be of interest to you to proceed on to the

next stage, that of a pilot project, not discussed here.

Three main points

1) The capture of Tidal Energy using helical turbine technology can be done in a simple, inexpensive way, using much local labor, material, and equipment.

2) But, before attempting to implement Tide-Energy technology, each Tide-Energy site must be evaluated in terms of:

its location and accessibility in relation to users the speed, duration, and frequency of tidal current at the site.

3) This initial evaluation can be done inexpensively in just a few months, using local labor and resources.

4. Can we get technical assistance to make an initial evaluation?

Yes. Insofar as my time allows, I would be pleased

to assist (via e-mail) anyone interested

in making initial Tide-Energy site evaluations.

There would be no charge for this. Good Luck.

Scott Anderson

[email protected]

+1 (352) 376-0799 / +1 (352) 246-8246 (mobile)