Offshore wind and solar energy have been getting all the attention in the quickly growing renewable energy industry, but there’s another player that is beginning to grow strength in the energy market – ocean waves and tidal currents, or “marine energy”. There are vast amounts of energy that are produced within the moving waters of oceans and rivers, and companies working to harness this energy are quickly gaining speed.
While not nearly as large as the main competitors in renewables, marine energy has strong advocates and is quickly gaining steam in the renewable market. About 30 tidal and 45 wave energy companies are at an advanced stage of technological development. One of the biggest issues these companies are facing that has impeded forward movement in the market is the harsh ocean environments – the same thing that makes the industry work in the first place.
The intensity of sea waves is greatly unpredictable and can cause damage throughout the process. Installation of the equipment is often difficult – the areas that are best suited to harness wave and tidal energy are often very hazardous and can be difficult to navigate. As we mentioned in our article on subsea cable vulnerability, subsea cables and hardware have to withstand 14.5 psi per every 10.05 meters they are lowered into the ocean. That coupled with the harsh environment that marine energy succeeds in, makes for a harsh environment for equipment.
PMI has many years of experience engineering proven subsea hardware for companies around the globe. We are excited to be part of the quickly growing marine energy market and are ready to create custom and quality solutions that will withstand harsh and hazardous environments.
Read more about the potential of wave and tidal energy.
The outcome of your project will rely on the quality of your subsea terminations. Make sure to download our guide – 7 Questions You Should Be Asking About Your Subsea Terminations – for a through breakdown of what you should be looking for in your subsea terminations.
The ocean is a big place. The equipment and tools we build for working in the subsea is pretty big too. And apparently there’s room to continue to grow – because projects like the massive Delta Stream Turbine by Tidal Energy are going to prove how big things are going to get. They built one the world’s first demonstration devices connected to the grid to generate green, renewable and predictable tidal power in an attempt to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions.
It weighs 150 tons, has a 52ft by 66ft frame, and each turbine has a 49ft diameter rotor which is connected to a generator to produce electricity both the ebb and flood tides.
Watch how it works:
Read our thoughts on the wave and tidal industry here.
Read more about Tidal Energy’s project here.
For decades, PMI has been extremely focused on building the best products that withstand the extreme environments of the deep ocean. But as we’ve come to work with Offshore Wind and Renewable Energy companies, we understand our product doesn’t have to be used in the deepest and harshest place on our planet, the sea. Instead, rivers in rural areas are a huge focus of the renewable energy field today. And these companies are offering solutions that serve a large portion of the population, who still have no access to electricity.
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We see a great future in the power coursing through our rivers. And, of course, we will be providing cable equipment for these projects as they evolve. If you want to know more about our custom engineered cable hardware equipment, schedule to talk to our experts today.
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India is facing an energy revolution. Despite broad grid coverage, electricity supply in remote areas remains unreliable. For the future, the government is setting a favorable political scenario by introducing solutions for decentralized electrification based on renewable energies, such as photovoltaic (PV), small wind, and explicitly kinetic hydropower.
Companies such as Smart Hydro Power have the advantage of realizing its systems in rural areas, without the requirement for any kind of infrastructure, suitable for running canals, rivers and streams, which inhabit a large portion of India’s typography. At the distribution part of this system, integrated load management introduces an auxiliary productive load – a water purification plant – that utilizes all excess energy and stabilizes the micro grid with variable operation. Through this feature, additional value is brought to the lifestyle of people residing in these communities. Read more…
The main ambition behind the development of the Smart Hydro Power turbine was cost efficiency. Selected materials had to be robust and yet affordable which resulted in a majority of HDPE, aluminum and stainless steel components. The turbine consists of a three bladed rotor, a 5 kW generator, the floating body consisting of a three piece diffusor and two floats.
Watch how it works here: http://www.smart-hydro.de/en/product/turbine.html
Although we are located in the States, we assist companies world-wide with marine cable hardware, deployment, and management. Therefore, we’ve had a front row seat watching Europe position itself as a leader and pioneer in addressing climate change, creating jobs in the offshore wind sector, and reducing fossil fuel imports.
And while offshore wind is years behind onshore wind, the industry is displaying one of the fastest growth rates in the industry. The pace of growth, however, needs to be matched by an equal pace in reducing costs. Success will depend not only on how much it can reduce costs, but also how fast it can reduce costs.
As the U.S. starts installing the foundations for their first offshore wind farm, they will have these same issues to contend with as well as the struggling opposition found along our coast.
Read more about offshore wind here.
Read more about North America’s first offshore wind farm:
Rhode Island’s Deepwater Wind will start installing the foundations for North America’s first offshore wind farm on Monday, a milestone the company says could pave the way for an industry long established in Europe but that is still struggling with opposition in the United States.
There is no shortage of new technologies and ideas in the wave and tidal energy business. New floating tidal platforms in the Netherlands are already feeding electricity to the Dutch grid almost upon deployment. The results are amazing and not yet seen in the tidal industry until now,
Their recipe for success is one we share – minimize the impact of equipment costs and grow with minimized risk. That’s exactly how we work customers to find a solution within budget and create top-quality cable hardware maintaining cable integrity in extreme underwater environments.
In a recent interview with Tidal Energy Today, Allard van Hoeken, Head of New Energy at Bluewater Energy Services, echoed our beliefs.
“Learn with low costs, grow with minimized risk, and keep offshore access easy in the early phase.” This recipe for success in tidal energy industry was shared with [Tidal Energy Today] by the Head of New Energy at Bluewater Energy Services, Mr. Allard van Hoeken.
Read the interview with Allard van Hoeken here.
As engineers, we naturally love to innovate. That’s what is so exciting about what the future holds for us in alternative energy. While our subsea hardware has been proven for over 40 years, we are also equally proven in custom-engineering parts for unique cable innovations and ready to tackle what the future has in store for us.
Turbines designed in the UK aim to harness tidal energy to produce cheaper electricity − without endangering marine life.
Kepler Energy, whose technology is being developed by Oxford University’s department of engineering science, says the turbines will in time produce electricity more cheaply than off-shore wind farms.
It hopes to install its new design in what is called a tidal energy fence, one kilometre long, in the Bristol Channel. Read more…
In the United States, wave energy technology is less advanced than tidal. But as interest grows, companies like ours are prepared to equip these new tidal power companies with proven subsea cable hardware helping them become profitable sources of electricity.
Small tidal power companies are taking advantage of the rising interest in alternative energies. Large amounts of coastal waters are being reserved on both coasts of North America by small companies who plan to take advantage of ocean energy technologies, in the hopes that these sites will become profitable sources of electricity. Read more…
Forward-thinking and progressive companies will push sustainable energy technology and innovation further, testing its boundaries. These companies will advance as they see the value in environmental advocacy. They will be very focused on time and cost cutting methods. At PMI, we are looking into the future with these companies, helping reduce their costs through the use of hydrodynamic efficient hardware. Our in-depth hydrodynamic efficiency studies can be done on existing subsea devices for a complete cost analysis, as well.
In the world of energy, time and money are of the essence. Whether it be meeting projects completions, cost recovery or investor returns, entering the sustainable energy market has very real risks. All variables in the energy sector are related to time and cost. This is even truer in the sustainable energy sector. In order to get off the ground floor, in order to thrive, new emerging technologies and companies in this sector will require the removal of barriers to entry, which at times contain the much maligned red-tape. Read more…
Tidal energy farms require cables. And we understand that the lifetime of those cables significantly effect O&M costs. That’s why as the demand for tidal energy grows, we expect to find ourselves a long-time supplier in this market. Our product are designed to guard against cable and equipment damage, extend service life and maintain cable integrity in extreme underwater environments. Our hardware is proven to reduce the cost of maintaining subsea cables over time.
How the world is harnessing the power of the tides:
The Bay of Fundy is receiving a great deal of attention from proponents of ocean energy and from those in the industry seeking a more sustainable and green future. This 270 km long ocean bay is located in Atlantic Canada between the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The Bay of Fundy is where you will witness the highest and most spectacular tides in the world with 100 billion tons of seawater flowing in and out daily during each tidal cycle. This enormous power is currently being harnessed to generate electricity via tidal in-stream energy conversion (TISEC). Numerous projects and research initiatives are underway. With growing demand all over the world for renewable, clean, and carbon-free energy generation, tidal energy is quickly becoming a top choice over traditional wind and solar power. Read more…
As wind power grows in the UK, it is certain to grow in the US. PMI’s experience designing and producing reliable cable systems for offshore wind projects will benefit companies looking to innovate, increase performance and lower costs.
The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change has released results of a public attitude tracking survey, which shows support for offshore wind power has remained stable since the last survey.
According to DECC’s findings, support for individual renewable energy sources remain positive; offshore wind (74%), onshore wind (68%), wave and tidal (74%) and solar (81%). Read more…
