ORPC Alaska The Future of Tidal Energy on the Railbelt

Transcription

1 ORPC Alaska The Future of Tidal Energy on the Railbelt Alaska Rural Energy Conference April 28, 2010 Monty Worthington, Director of Project Development, Alaska

2 Ocean Renewable Power Company Overview Developer of technology and projects that convert river, tidal, and ocean currents into emission free electricity Founded in 2004 with executive offices in Portland, Maine and project offices in Anchorage, AK (ORPC Alaska, LLC) Eastport, Maine (ORPC Maine, LLC) Proprietary technology including OCGen, TidGen, and RivGen power systems Project sites in Cook Inlet and Nenana, AK, and Eastport, ME Beta Turbine Generator Unit (TGU) deployed in March

3 Tidal Energy potential on the Railbelt Cook Inlet Cook Inlet has the 2 nd Highest Tidal Range in North America peaking at 40 feet. Prime Tidal Current sites In Cook Inlet are Near to electrical Infrastructure including: Northern Cook Inlet sites, Knik Arm, Turnagin Arm, Fire Island, Anchorage waterfront Middle inlet sites at the Forelands near to Natural Gas Infrastructure and Kenai Lower inlet sites including Kachemak Bay near Homer Seldovia, Port Graham and Nanwalek 3

4 Upper Cook Inlet tidal surface currents 4

5 Cook Inlet Tidal Height Stations 5

6 Cook Inlet Tidal Current Stations 6

7 Continuous power availability with multiple sites 7

8 FERC preliminary permits in Cook Inlet ORPC s Cook Inlet Tidal Energy Project 2 nd Preliminary Permit applied for 3/31/10 Little Susitna Construction Company s Turnagain Arm Tidal Electric Generation Project 8

9 Tidal technologies 5 years ago 9

10 Tidal technologies Today! 10

11 Two Basic Turbine Variations Axial Flow and Cross Flow Cross Flow Axial Flow New Energy s 5kW Encurrent Turbine Marine Current Turbines 1.2 MW Sea Gen 11

12 ORPC Technology Evolution Proprietary TGU is the core of three hydrokinetic power systems TidGen Power System Bottom mounted TGU for shallow tidal applications Beta TGU OCGen Power System Floating OCGen Modules (stacked TGUs) for deep tidal and offshore ocean current applications RivGen Power System Bottom mounted TGU for remote river applications 12

13 ORPC s Beta Turbine Generator Unit (TGU) Weight: 13 tons Design capacity: 60 kilowatts Steel and composite TGU support frame 14 feet tall Underwater Permanent Magnet Generator ADCF Turbine Visual Comparison TGU & 6 Tall Human

14 The Energy Tide 2 Barge Facts: 60 long x 24 wide with 6 hull side Displacement capacity of 75 tons Beta TGU deployed 21 below water (TGU center) Variable voltage, variable frequency electrical output converted into grid-compatible power Includes state-of-the-art environmental monitoring equipment (Didson, Simrad, etc.) System operations monitored using 4 underwater cameras (2 color, 2 black & white) Operational parameters monitored & data recorded Anchored in Cobscook Bay, ME using a 4-legged single point mooring system Flo w

15 ORPC s Beta TGU and ET2 15

16 Energy Tide 2 at mooring

17 Beta TGU turbine first rotations

18 TidGen Device - a closer look Tidgen TGU will be rated at kW in a 6 knot current TidGen TGU Will utilize (4) Beta sized turbines 8.5 ft dia. X 18 ft long each TidGen TGU will be 90 x 14 and 30 above the seafloor TidGen Devices and Bottom frame will weigh approximately 60 tons and will be separately installed TidGen Device footprint will consist of (4) 6 diameter feet. 18

19 OCGen Module - a closer look OCGen TM Modules will be attached to the seafloor via a compliant mooring system with screw type, gravity based, or driven anchors. OCGen TM Modules will be comprised of 1 to 4 TidGen TM Type TGU s each 90 x 14. OCGen TM Modules will utilize 1/10 th the weight and amount of materials for bottom attachment decreasing cost of the attachment system. OCGen TM Modules will minimize benthic disturbance with as little as (4) 2 diameter footprints per module 19

20 ORPC s Cook Inlet Tidal Energy Project 20

21 Resource at Fire Island Site Summary Statistics Reported at middle of water column Site ADM 1 ADM 2 ADM 3 Cook Velocity NaN NaN NaN NaN Mean speed (m/s) Max sustained speed (m/s) Ebb/flood asymmetry Vertical shear (m/s per m) Power NaN NaN NaN NaN Mean power density (kw/m 2 ) Ebb/flood asymmetry Direction NaN NaN NaN NaN Principle axis (deg) Standard deviation (deg) Ebb/flood asymmetry (deg)

22 What is the long term potential of Tidal Energy on The Railbelt? l Overall resource is little understood - Cairn Point area Alone has at least 117MW of average power Estimate that 100+ MW of power could be extracted from the Forelands Area, with potential to repurpose existing energy infrastructure Northern Inlet and Kachemak Bay would likely l contribute up to 100 MW Staggered phases of inlet tides will allow for predictable energy delivery and provide capacity for baseload power In combination with the development of other Cook Inlet Region renewable resources such as Fire Island Wind and other wind projects, Mt. Spurr Geothermal, and traditional i hydro projects, Tidal Energy could be a significant part of a diversified and robust renewable energy portfolio to extend natural gas viability and supply the majority of Railbelt energy needs

23 Thank you Questions? 23

24 Turbine spinning