And what about sea wave power generation ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: opablo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2014, 04:17:12 pm
content: Everytime I hear talks about green power generation latelly I hear about Wind generators (I love them) and Solar panels.... and latelly just a little bit about solar-thermal generators... but what about wave power generator ? I never hear about them.Do you know what's the difficulty or inefficiency or reason why it could not be as profitable as the others ?Is it related with safety issues of combining HV and salt water ? or is it just the fact that the others are cheaper ?

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2014, 04:49:57 pm
content: I know they have underwater turbines installed somewhere in the UK. Due to the tide there are strong currents around the narrow sea between the UK and France.

author: johansen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2014, 05:17:57 pm
content: its more an issue of salt water + steel + many moving parts + electricity = high maintenance.

author: N2IXK
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2014, 05:34:29 pm
content: ^this.Plus the requirement for survivability in conditions that could range from dead calm to violent storms. And to keep working while encrusted with barnacles, mussels, and whatever else.Offshore environments are very unforgiving.

author: schwarz-brot
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2014, 05:40:17 pm
content: Wave power is used in form of tidal power plants but of course only available in coast regions. The differences between high and low tide have to be relatively high for reasonable use. But then you get a good and constant power-output.And then there is the wave power generation by the real waves. There is yet not too much power output but many conepts around. Try wave power on wikipedia. It lists some projects. Most are based on moving elements in snake or tube form, on buoys or on ramps (which can be done on-shore, too). By the way - many buoys with lights on them use wave power for decades now, making them completely independent.Most off-shore concepts only deliver low power output while being expencsive in both, construction and maintenance. And since they are all relying on waves they have to be situated ON the water surface. This makes them sensible to storms, freak waves and corrosion. I remember a project in Portugal or spain with buoy-like elements which were completely under water for these reasons, but that gave less efficiency again since most of the usable wave movement happens on the surface.As with wind power - the true wave dependent struktures give no output without waves which makes them as unreliable.Also there are concepts for wave power integration into off-shore windparks since the basic structures are already there.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2014, 04:58:59 pm
content: How about turbines powered by the moon

author: AG6QR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2014, 09:48:20 pm
content: Between sunlight, wind, water movements, temperature differentials, biological processes, and other things, there's really no shortage of "free energy", ready to be harvested. What IS scarce is concentrated, plentiful energy that can be harvested more economically than the typical mainstream energy sources, or even the "almost mainstream" sources like solar photovoltaic and wind turbines. With alternative energy systems, the question isn't, "Can you make it work?", but it's, "Can you make it work better than the alternatives?". Capital costs, maintenance, and efficiency are big concerns.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2014, 09:55:51 pm
content: Quote from: Stonent on February 26, 2014, 04:58:59 pmNo little girl. Your mum cooks coffee for some worthless guy at middle management.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2014, 12:23:52 am
content: Quote from: NANDBlog on February 26, 2014, 09:55:51 pmYeah I do think the commercial goes a bit far, I mean, I don't think one person would be designing a new train, a jet engine, and a power generator. Companies are a bit more compartmentalized than that.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2014, 12:24:54 am
content: Quote from: AG6QR on February 26, 2014, 09:48:20 pmI would have to agree with that.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2014, 02:58:02 pm
content: Quote from: opablo on February 25, 2014, 04:17:12 pmApparently you don't live near one ;-) The full documentary is available on Netflix.

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2014, 03:33:11 pm
content: Wind turbine are fine when its only one or two, there is one in Swaffham 9 miles up the road from me next to a supermarket, I go there regularly and the sound from it is hard to hear especialy over the noise from the road and cars in the car park, But about five miles further there is a farm of fifty or so and there the noise is quite loud, I get the idea that there is some form of resonance set up by having them in rows. If I go to the coast there is a very large array of wind turbines on the Sheringham shoals I don't know if they make much noise as they are too far out to sea and just about every time I go in that direction they are stopped either due to not enough wind or too much. Lots of solar farms going up in the area with the biggest in Europe due to start construction just up the road from me, I have permission to photograph all of the construction of that so as they say watch this space.

author: tealsuki
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2014, 12:10:03 am
content: We've got absolutely massive tides in the Bay of Fundy (Nova Scotia represent!), but if I recall correctly, the last test they did resulted in the turbines being destroyed!