EMEC: European Marine Energy Centre - Standards. We have coordinated the development of a suite of guidelines on behalf of the marine renewable energy industry. Each document has been written by an acknowledged expert and progressed by a working group with individuals representing technology developers, regulators, academia, utilities, and project developers – a true cross-section of the marine energy industry.
These draft standards and guides were released in 2009 and are freely available for download by clicking below: 1. Assessment of Performance of Wave Energy Conversion Systems*2. Assessment of Performance of Tidal Energy Conversion Systems*3. Assessment of Wave Energy Resource*4. Assessment of Tidal Energy Resource*5. The development of these standards was funded by the Scottish Government and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) formed Technical Committee (TC) 114: Marine Energy – Wave and Tidal Energy Converters.
Links | Ocean Energy Systems. Ocean/Wave Energy : Renewable + Law. Although this blog is focused on renewable energy, manufacturers in the renewable space should be aware of a new tax credit included in the stimulus bill. The provisions is complicated and unlike most tax credits. Nevertheless, its benefits, especially for manufacturers on the cutting edge, may be too great to ignore. Taxpayers who qualify are entitled to a 30 percent tax credit for investment in a “qualifying advanced energy project. " A "QAEP" is defined as one that reequips, expands or establishes a manufacturing facility that produces: 1. property designed to produce energy from the sun, wind, geothermal, and other renewable resources, 2. fuel cells, microturbines, or an energy storage system for use with electric or hybrid-electric motor vehicles 3. electric grids to support the transmission of intermittent sources of renewable energy, including storage of such energy, 4. property designed to capture and sequester carbon dioxide emissions,
Tidal Energy | Pros for Wave and Tidal Power. What is tidal energy? Tidal energy is one of the oldest forms of energy used by humans. Indeed, tide mills, in use on the Spanish, French and British coasts, date back to 787 A.D.. Tide mills consisted of a storage pond, filled by the incoming (flood) tide through a sluice and emptied during the outgoing (ebb) tide through a water wheel. The tides turned waterwheels, producing mechanical power to mill grain. We even have one remaining in New York- which worked well into the 20th century. Tidal power is non-polluting, reliable and predictable.Tidal barrages, undersea tidal turbines – like wind turbines but driven by the sea – and a variety of machines harnessing undersea currents are under development. Tidal energy can be exploited in two ways: By building semi-permeable barrages across estuaries with a high tidal range.By harnessing offshore tidal streams. Barrages allow tidal waters to fill an estuary via sluices and to empty through turbines.
What is the impact on the environment? EMEC: European Marine Energy Centre - Standards Development. Standards Development In addition to its services for developers of devices, the European Marine Energy Centre is facilitating the development of standards, on behalf of the marine renewable energy industry. This is in line with EMEC’s Mission to encourage and stimulate the development of the industry.
EMEC’s first involvement within this field began back in 2004 when the first draft standard assessment for testing the Performance of Wave Energy Converter Systems in the Open Sea was launched. This established how to characterise an area of the sea in terms of its wave energy levels and use this along with electrical power measurement to assess device performance. This meant that EMEC could test devices using a uniform methodology to ensure consistency and stated accuracy in the measurement and analysis of the performance of wave energy conversion systems.
The Standards Project is being led on EMEC's behalf by John Griffiths. Securing UK marine energy. The UK is in one of the best locations in the world for wave and tidal power generation in terms of both geography and expertise. It has a unique opportunity to establish itself as the global centre of excellence for marine renewable technologies and infrastructure, but the industry still lags behind wind power in terms of technology and investment. Generating electricity from the UK's wave and tidal resources makes sense because marine energy is clean, efficient and predictable. It is not reliant on the vagaries of the weather, which ensures consistent power generation. The country also has numerous tidal range sites to take advantage of, including the world's second highest tidal range in the Severn Estuary. Marine energy presents a significant economic opportunity for the UK to capitalise on; wave energy has the potential to generate £2 billion and thousands of jobs.
Another company that has made an active contribution in this area is QinetiQ. Deploying marine devices About the author: