Wave Power

[Mick_Marsh]

More news, Gav.
Victoria's first wave power unit fully built, ready for November launch - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-29/victorias-first-wave-power-unit-to-be-launched-in-november/6581942)


Only 250kW but it's a start.

[loanrangie]

A Holdon V8 puts out more power, maybe they need to harness the " Defender " wave :D.

[Judo]

This maybe a dumb question, but 250kW / ? KWh?

[bee utey]

A Holdon V8 puts out more power, maybe they need to harness the " Defender " wave :D.
You dump a V8 Dunnydore off the Victorian coast, see if it still produces 250kW.:p

[Lotz-A-Landies]

You dump a V8 Dunnydore off the Victorian coast, see if it still produces 250kW.:pper hour continuously! (without any fossil fuel input or exhaust emissions)


A Holdon V8 puts out more power, maybe they need to harness the " Defender " wave :D.Great idea but two minor problems: How do we connect that to the grid?
What about the declining output in Defender waves? :(

[PhilipA]

I wonder how long before it joins the one sunk off Port Kembla.

PHOTOS: Port wave generator removal in doubt | Illawarra Mercury (http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/2193950/photos-port-wave-generator-removal-in-doubt/)

I think there is a sunk one in SA also.
Regards Philip A

[bee utey]

per hour continuously!
Groan, what is it with people who have to add "per hour" or "per annum" to every power output? It produces 250kW of power continuously, not per hour. It might indeed produce 250kWh per hour but that is doubly redundantly surplussedly redundant...:)

[Judo]

Of course you're right. kW is a rate. kWh is a volume. Carry on, as you were. :)

Right?

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Groan, what is it with people who have to add "per hour" or "per annum" to every power output? It produces 250kW of power continuously, not per hour. It might indeed produce 250kWh per hour but that is doubly redundantly surplussedly redundant...:)Its the notion that a commodore in the ocean will produce its kW for more than a few moments before it hydraulics and does it without consuming or producing anything but energy!

(even the V8 on land won't last very long at max kW)

[Toxic_Avenger]

Came here expecting Defender wave.
Left disappointed.

[JDNSW]

More news, Gav.
Victoria's first wave power unit fully built, ready for November launch - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-29/victorias-first-wave-power-unit-to-be-launched-in-november/6581942)


Only 250kW but it's a start.

The ocean is a very hostile environment for any engineering operation, especially where there is a lot of wave energy, and all previous efforts at recovering wave energy have failed due to either high maintenance or damage due to extreme weather.

Which is a pity, since the west coast of Victoria is a place where wave energy could in theory provide large quantities of energy 24/7, unlike solar or wind.

John

[Chops]

Well, I hope they succeed, alllllll the way. :D

I cant see why it won't work having watched their video.
But I still cant help but wonder why they can't design something that can float on the water to do the same/similar thing. Some kind of massive barge with a big water wheel type thingy on it :confused: To me, this would help immensely with maintenance issues, which would be a major problem whilst the unit is actually under water. Although, having said that, being in only 30-50mts of water, it should be easier to pull up and fix if need be.

[Mick_Marsh]

The ocean is a very hostile environment for any engineering operation, especially where there is a lot of wave energy, and all previous efforts at recovering wave energy have failed due to either high maintenance or damage due to extreme weather.

Which is a pity, since the west coast of Victoria is a place where wave energy could in theory provide large quantities of energy 24/7, unlike solar or wind.

John
Another pilot plant has been running a little while now.
Carnegie Wave Energy - Perth Project (http://www.carnegiewave.com/projects/perth-project.html)

Unfortunately, solar and wind do not supply reliable 24/7 power. I work very close to a wind farm. Monday morning, early, way before the solar panels were producing, the wind farm turbines, all 100 of them, were motionless. Not a breath of wind.
Good job we had the coal burners running. It was a cool morning.

[JDNSW]

.....
But I still cant help but wonder why they can't design something that can float on the water to do the same/similar thing. Some kind of massive barge with a big water wheel type thingy on it :confused: To me, this would help immensely with maintenance issues, which would be a major problem whilst the unit is actually under water. Although, having said that, being in only 30-50mts of water, it should be easier to pull up and fix if need be.
Going below the surface is almost certainly a decision made to sidestep the major damage that can result from severe weather events. And will probably reduce the need for maintenance, as most of the problems, from corrosion to marine life growth, are worst at the water/air interface. But, as you suggest, submarine operation makes any maintenance more difficult.

John

[bee utey]

Another pilot plant has been running a little while now.
Carnegie Wave Energy - Perth Project (http://www.carnegiewave.com/projects/perth-project.html)

Unfortunately, solar and wind do not supply reliable 24/7 power. I work very close to a wind farm. Monday morning, early, way before the solar panels were producing, the wind farm turbines, all 100 of them, were motionless. Not a breath of wind.
Good job we had the coal burners running. It was a cool morning.

The intermittent nature of wind and solar isn't a good argument to keep your old mud burners running forever. It is a good argument for developing battery and pumped hydro storage on a large scale. I predict that no new coal power will ever be built in Australia and that nearly all existing plants will be shut down within the next 20 years. Engineers are currently going gang busters on battery production and there's nothing to stop them. New ways of producing lithium metal from lower grade ores will prevent a bottle neck.

WA company developing new technology to access lithium as demand for batteries to store renewable energy grows - ABC Rural (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-03/demand-for-lithium-batteries-driving-technology-developments/5935472)

On pumped storage:

http://www.energy.unimelb.edu.au/documents/let%E2%80%99s-turn-latrobe-valley-coal-pits-hydro-storage-renewables

On battery development:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150623184353.htm

[goingbush]

Wave power good but how about tidal power, build a wall across the horizontal falls and whack in a couple of turbines - free energy 24/7

[JDNSW]

Wave power good but how about tidal power, build a wall across the horizontal falls and whack in a couple of turbines - free energy 24/7

Not quite - water flow reverses, and there is usually a period of non-generation each change of tide. The problem with tidal installations is that except for a few places with massive tidal range the energy density is pretty low - in other words, you need a lot of modification of the landscape to recover useful amounts of power, making such projects very expensive for the energy produced, and very likely to suffer from NIMBY and conservation arguments.

John