Wind and waves

Wind and waves

Jun 04 - Electric Perspectives -

New investments in the renewables industry are occurring in both the wind and wave electricity generation sectors. In Europe, wind power has gained such solid ground that some experts predict within 10 years, 10 percent of the energy will be wind-based. In Denmark, wind turbines already produce 16 percent. (A recent decision to stop government subsidization of the turbines there, however, may slow this progress.)

In North America, wind power is growing faster than any other fuel source. The Administration earmarked $9.5 million in tax incentives for renewable energy projects in its 2002 budget. Such support could boost windpower spending by 50 percent. At the same time, a 1.5-cent per kilowatt-hour (KwH) "production tax credit" expired at the end of 2001, leaving many wind producers concerned about their ability to compete with other sources.

While wind is enjoying a boom age, another, lesser-known renewable energy source is reaching North American shores-wave power, a technology that uses buoys, pumps, and conventional turbines to transform the energy of shifting water into electricity. Wave power is considered more reliable than other renewable forms of energy because wave and tidal movements can be predicted ahead of time.

In Washington State, AquaEnergy Group plans to build a 1 - megawatt (Mw) demonstration project, the first of its kind in the continental United States. The project will be positioned offshore as opposed to along the shoreline. According to the company, potential energy in offshore waves is three times the amount closer to the shore. The project, if expanded to 100 mw, could generate electricity at 4-5 cents/KwH, a price competitive with hydropower. "We are entering the market with the same cost characteristics that it has taken wind power 25 years to attain," said Alla Weinstein, CEO of AquaEnergy.

On Vancouver Island, British Columbia, BC Hydro has plans to develop 10 MW of wind power and four Mw of wave power in near-shore and offshore projects. "We are unsure which of these will most easily be able to move up to a commercial scale. This approach gives us the ability to test the effectiveness of both locations," said spokesperson Brenda Goehring. The company expects the two wavepower projects to be functional by 2004.

Attached to an underwater system, buoys move up and down with the waves, creating a pumping action that directs pressurized water into a turbine.