Duke Energy is in the process of upgrading and extpanding capacity of the Jocassee pumped-storage hydropower facility, in South Carolina. The facility will be receiving two new hydroturbines for units 1 and 2, upgrading the power generators and increasing installed capacity by 50 MW.
E.ON announced its Vagr Atferd wave energy conversion device has arrived at the EMEC in Orkney, and is now awaiting installation and the beginning of the testing period. This will be the first time the P2 machine, designed and made by Pelamis Wave Power, will be tested. The Vagr Atferd ("wave power" in old Norse) has 750 kW of capacity, and will be tested over the next months and years, with the goal to transition this technology from development to commercial phase. E.ON initially announced the completion of its first wave energy device in May this year.
Vagr Atferd is 180 meters long, weigh about 1300 tons. The "snake" produced electricity using the oscillatory motion of the waves, which help puch the water within the device through hydraulic "rams", mounted at the hinged joints on the device.
[source: E.ON]
Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) announced the company has been awarded a GBP 1.5 million grant from South West of England Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) for the development of OPT's 500 kW PowerBuoy, PB500, wave energy conversion technology. OPT is the first company to have commited to participating in the Wave Hub, a marine energy project being developed by SWRDA in Cornwall, England.
This is the second funding amount awarded to OPT for the development of PB500. The company was awarded USD 1.5 million from the US Department of Energy in April this year.
[source: Ocean Power Technologies]
Tidal Energy announced the company will receive funding from the GBP 1.4 million funding boost received from the EU, to continue development of the DeltaStream technology for harnessing the energy of tidal currents. Tidal Energy will be doing an assessment study to determine whether the waters off the coast of West Wales offer good conditions for tidal stream testing.
The study will be backed by GBP 572,000 of funding from the European Regional Development Fund, through the Welsh government. Tidal Energy will be performing surveys, assessments and design work at the proposed test site at Ramsey Sound, Pembrokeshire. The project will last for 12 months, during which the project will provide a sustainable source of electricity to the local population. A full scale prototype is expected to be the result of the funding, sometime in 2011.
The demo device will have 1.2 MW of power generating capacity, and will be placed on the seabed in Ramsey Sound. DeltaStream technology allows easy device installation, servicing, and requires no special preparation before installation.
[source: Tidal Energy]
Marine Current Turbines has secured GBP 250,000 of funding from the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), as part of TSB's GBP 7 million wave and tidal energy competition fund. Marine Current Turbines is one of nine developers which will be able to continue with the development of their technology for harnessing the energy of the sea.
UK wave and tidal energy developers have been awarded GBP 7 million in funding in order to boost their technology development efforts, and contribute to the development of this renewable energy sector in the UK, InnovateUK announced. More than 35 British businesses and universities have been included in this funding award, allocated through a research and development funding competition.
South West RDA announced it is ready to install the 25 km subsea cable which will connect the agency's Wave Hub test site for marine energy technology. The cable has been loaded onto a cable laying ship, and is ready for deployment within the next few weeks.
Wave Hub is located about 16 km off the coast of Cornwall, UK, and will provide a grid-connected subsea socket which will enable marine energy developers to easily connect their projects to the power grid onshore. It represents an investment of GBP 42 million by South West RDA, and is part of an effort to produce a world marine energy industry in South West England.
The subsea cable, weighing 1300 tons, is being spooled at a rate of 400 meters per hour. The process is running round the clock, and will take about five days to be completed. The cable costs are around GBP 7 million.
The first wave energy devices are to be deployed in 2011. It is estimated that the Wave Hub project could create as many as 1800 jobs, and bring GBP 560 million to the UK economy over the next 25 years. About a thousand jobs are estimated to be available for the region of South West England.
[source: South West RDA]
Raanaasfoss hydropower project in Norway.
Voith Hydro announced the company's largest hydropower machinery supply and installation contract in Norway ever. The company is to supply six new vertical propeller hydroturbines for the Raanaasfoss hydropower project in Norway. The existing hydropower plant is being refurbished and upgraded with new generators and turbines, increasing installed capacity to 93 MW. Each propeller turbine is rated at 15.5 Mw of power output. The contract has a value of EUR 53 million.
Voith Hydro is to supply, install and commission the complete electromechanical powerhouse equipment. The first unit is to arrive by the end of 2012, while the whole power plant is to be completed spring 2016. This is the second phase of the project. The first phase, also completed by Voith Hydro, involved analyses and development works, CFD studies, model tests and optimization of the new units to be used for Raanaasfoss hydropower plant modernization.
[source: Voith Hydro]
Voith Schneider Propellers mounted on a ship's hull.
Voith Turbo will be supplying its Schneider propellers for two jack up vessels to be launched in Dubai in 2012. The two vessels will be specialized to offer support services for the offshore wind energy industry. They will also be the first of their kind to have Voith Schneider Propellers (VSP) installed.
The vessels are being built at the Dubai shipyard by Lamprell Energy. The owner of the vessels is Fred Olsen Windcarrier AS, from Norway. Fred Olsen placed an order for the vessels earlier this year, as we covered here. Each vessel will have three VSPs installed, ensuring high maneuverability of the ships, and a sailing speed of 12 knots during crossings. VSPs will allow easier lifting of the vessel from the water during wind turbine installation, and a simpler hull shape allowing the ships to have a more hydrodymanic hull design, reducing drag and increasing speed.
More info on the Schneider propeller concept can be seen here.
[source: Voith Turbo]
The Cleusone-Dixence hydropower plant in Switzerland has finally resumed power generation after almost ten years of inactivity. The power plant was formerly shut down due to the need for repairs on the main shaft which transported water from the upper level reservoirs. The crack was at a very difficult place, located inside the shaft structures within the mountain. The construction work that had to be performed to repair the damaged shaft soon turned out to be a major repair project, which demanded a large-scale overhaul of the shaft system. The system is about 17 km long, and the initial crack occured at about the 16th km, very near the end where the shaft enters the hydropower station.
