Neptune Renewable Energy
lunes, 4 enero 2010
“The Humber region is contributing to the development of groundbreaking technological developments in tidal power technology.” Glenn Aitken, Neptune Renewable Energy.
Neptune Renewable Energy Ltd was formed in 2005 in order to progress the development of both tidal power and wave power projects in the UK. The company is currently in the process of developing a full scale demonstrator tidal stream device that will generate electricity from the tidal flow of the Humber Estuary. The device, named the Proteus, will be rated at 500kW, with an annual energy output of 1000MW hours of electricity.
The Proteus has already been successfully trialed at the University of Hull’s Total Environmental Simulator research facility at The Deep. Following this research, the company has achieved a design which delivers equal efficiency on both the flood and ebb tides to maintain a consistent output. Construction and maintenance costs of the device are reduced due to its simple design and its environmental impact is relatively small- roughly the same as a moored river barge.
If this trial is successful, two arrays of ten devices will be installed in the Humber Estuary. These arrays will be among the first in the world to generate electricity from tidal stream power and will act as a further example of the city’s desire to become a global centre of excellence for renewable energy.