Post by LSDeep on Feb 16, 2006 0:10:52 GMT -5
By Dan Jones
A power generator almost the size of a football pitch will be sunk in the sea off Bermuda under ground-breaking green energy plans.
Belco chiefs yesterday revealed how they intend to capture ocean currents to initially provide nearly ten per cent of the Island's electricity needs.
The energy giant has struck a 20-year deal with a US company in a partnership they said will see a submersible ocean power system – compared to a submarine – used for the first time in the world in South Shore waters.
The radical renewable energy plans were outlined at a Press conference yesterday after a year of top level talks between Belco and Massachusetts-based private firm Current to Current. Planning permission will be needed from Government before the pilot generator is sunk at an as yet unspecified location off the south of the Island.
But Belco president and chief executive officer Garry Madeiros said he was confident the plans would get the green light, and he said he hoped the first ocean flow generator would start operating next summer. If successful, further underwater units could be sunk to meet more of Bermuda's electricity needs.
The 150ft long deep sea generator with a four-blade turbine inside would cut Belco's dependency on oil and also benefit the environment by cutting future fuel emissions, he added, stating that the company needed to increase its generating capacity before 2010.
Mr. Madeiros, who hailed the technology "mind-boggling", said: "This is cutting edge technology, not used anywhere else.
"One can't help but get excited by this technology."
He also praised the benefits of not relying on one single energy source, especially in the wake of the Island power blackout last July.
The price struck with the US firm for sea power was less than the equivalent price of fuel, and the Belco chief said "theoretically" this meant slightly lower bills for customers. This still hinged on the future cost of oil.
Off-shore wind power was looked at as part of Belco's future power plans, he revealed, but ruled out after it emerged that it would only provide sporadic power and would not replace the need for fuel-powered electricity.
Helen Manich, chief marketing officer at Current to Current, said the scheme looked to "mother nature", rather than fossil fuels, to provide a predictable and constant source of power.
Asked about the potential impact on Bermuda's unique reefs, she said the efficient generator would have a "very low" environmental impact and said the noise produced by the generator would be "very, very quiet" and would not impact sea creatures.
She said the unit would be sunk past the first layer of marine life, and fish below that level would be able to safely swim through it. An electric cable would link the substation to the generator under the sand.
Current to Current said Bermuda was chosen as the first country to pilot the scheme because it was in the right location and Belco was the right partner.
The first generator would help provide just over eight per cent of Bermuda's current electricity demand, the Press conference heard, although the contract penned with Current to Current allows for that capacity to be doubled to 20 megawatts.
The generator will be sunk between 75 and 200 metres below sea level and will provide power to a substation on land. This will feed straight into the Belco's power grid. The depth of the moored floating generator means it will not be affected by sea storms or hurricanes. It would also be sited too deep for divers to make contact.
Energy experts will now investigate where the strongest currents are in various south shore locations before the best site for the first generator is revealed and planning talks start with Government.
The first six months of operation would be a trial period, and the meeting was told Current to Current plan to sink many more generators across the globe.
Costs of the project were not released at yesterday's Press conference.
And Current to Current would not reveal what material the generators would be made of due to patent breach concerns. But the company said it was a metal often used in submarines.
The unit will be built in America and barged to Bermuda. Once in place, it can be remotely controlled and monitored by both Current to Current and Belco.
*The underwater energy idea was the brainchild of inventor Dr. Manfred Kuehnle. The inventor has hundreds of patents to his name, including the first optical spy satellite for the US Government and the first readable credit card machine.
Dr. Kuehnle created an innovative gearbox in the underwater power unit, allowing it to capture currents to provide large volume electricity production, suitable for commercial use, unlike other ocean current devices.
www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060214/NEWS/102140147
A power generator almost the size of a football pitch will be sunk in the sea off Bermuda under ground-breaking green energy plans.
Belco chiefs yesterday revealed how they intend to capture ocean currents to initially provide nearly ten per cent of the Island's electricity needs.
The energy giant has struck a 20-year deal with a US company in a partnership they said will see a submersible ocean power system – compared to a submarine – used for the first time in the world in South Shore waters.
The radical renewable energy plans were outlined at a Press conference yesterday after a year of top level talks between Belco and Massachusetts-based private firm Current to Current. Planning permission will be needed from Government before the pilot generator is sunk at an as yet unspecified location off the south of the Island.
But Belco president and chief executive officer Garry Madeiros said he was confident the plans would get the green light, and he said he hoped the first ocean flow generator would start operating next summer. If successful, further underwater units could be sunk to meet more of Bermuda's electricity needs.
The 150ft long deep sea generator with a four-blade turbine inside would cut Belco's dependency on oil and also benefit the environment by cutting future fuel emissions, he added, stating that the company needed to increase its generating capacity before 2010.
Mr. Madeiros, who hailed the technology "mind-boggling", said: "This is cutting edge technology, not used anywhere else.
"One can't help but get excited by this technology."
He also praised the benefits of not relying on one single energy source, especially in the wake of the Island power blackout last July.
The price struck with the US firm for sea power was less than the equivalent price of fuel, and the Belco chief said "theoretically" this meant slightly lower bills for customers. This still hinged on the future cost of oil.
Off-shore wind power was looked at as part of Belco's future power plans, he revealed, but ruled out after it emerged that it would only provide sporadic power and would not replace the need for fuel-powered electricity.
Helen Manich, chief marketing officer at Current to Current, said the scheme looked to "mother nature", rather than fossil fuels, to provide a predictable and constant source of power.
Asked about the potential impact on Bermuda's unique reefs, she said the efficient generator would have a "very low" environmental impact and said the noise produced by the generator would be "very, very quiet" and would not impact sea creatures.
She said the unit would be sunk past the first layer of marine life, and fish below that level would be able to safely swim through it. An electric cable would link the substation to the generator under the sand.
Current to Current said Bermuda was chosen as the first country to pilot the scheme because it was in the right location and Belco was the right partner.
The first generator would help provide just over eight per cent of Bermuda's current electricity demand, the Press conference heard, although the contract penned with Current to Current allows for that capacity to be doubled to 20 megawatts.
The generator will be sunk between 75 and 200 metres below sea level and will provide power to a substation on land. This will feed straight into the Belco's power grid. The depth of the moored floating generator means it will not be affected by sea storms or hurricanes. It would also be sited too deep for divers to make contact.
Energy experts will now investigate where the strongest currents are in various south shore locations before the best site for the first generator is revealed and planning talks start with Government.
The first six months of operation would be a trial period, and the meeting was told Current to Current plan to sink many more generators across the globe.
Costs of the project were not released at yesterday's Press conference.
And Current to Current would not reveal what material the generators would be made of due to patent breach concerns. But the company said it was a metal often used in submarines.
The unit will be built in America and barged to Bermuda. Once in place, it can be remotely controlled and monitored by both Current to Current and Belco.
*The underwater energy idea was the brainchild of inventor Dr. Manfred Kuehnle. The inventor has hundreds of patents to his name, including the first optical spy satellite for the US Government and the first readable credit card machine.
Dr. Kuehnle created an innovative gearbox in the underwater power unit, allowing it to capture currents to provide large volume electricity production, suitable for commercial use, unlike other ocean current devices.
www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060214/NEWS/102140147