ORPC Alaska The Future of Tidal Energy on the Railbelt gy Alaska Rural Energy Conference April 28, 2010 Monty Worthington, Director of Project Development, Alaska
Ocean Renewable Power Company Overview Overview • Developer of technology • Founded in 2004 with and proj ects that convert executive offices in Portland, river, tidal, and ocean i tid l d Maine and proj ect offices in currents into emission • Anchorage, AK (ORPC Alaska, free electricity LLC) • • Eastport, Maine (ORPC Eastport Maine (ORPC Maine, LLC) • Proprietary technology including OCGen™ g , TidGen™ , , , and RivGen™ power systems • Proj ect sites in Cook Inlet and Nenana, AK, and Eastport, ME , , p , • Beta Turbine Generator Unit (TGU) deployed in March 2010 2
Tidal Energy potential on the Railbelt – Cook Inlet Cook Inlet Cook Inlet has the 2 nd Highest Tidal Range in North America Tidal Range in North America peaking at 40 feet. Prime Tidal Current sites In Cook Inlet are Near to electrical Infrastructure including: Infrastructure including: Northern Cook Inlet sites, Knik Arm, Turnagin Arm, Fire Island, Anchorage waterfront Middle inlet sites at the Middle inlet sites at the Forelands near to Natural Gas Infrastructure and Kenai Lower inlet sites including Kachemak Bay near Homer Kachemak Bay near Homer S eldovia, Port Graham and Nanwalek 3
Upper Cook Inlet tidal surface currents 4
Cook Inlet Tidal Height Stations g 5
Cook Inlet Tidal Current Stations 6
Continuous power availability with multiple sites Continuous power availability with multiple sites 7
FERC preliminary permits in Cook Inlet • Little S Little S usitna Construction Company’s usitna Construction Company s • ORPC’s Cook Inlet Tidal Energy Proj ect • ORPC s Cook Inlet Tidal Energy Proj ect 2 nd Preliminary Permit applied for 3/ 31/ 10 Turnagain Arm Tidal Electric Generation Proj ect 8
Tidal technologies i l 5 years ago … • 5 years ago h Tid l t 9
Tidal technologies i l h • Today! Today! Tid l t 10
Two Basic Turbine Variations –Axial Flow and Cross Flow Axial Flow Axial Flow Cross Flow Marine Current Turbines New Energy’s 5kW Encurrent Turbine 1.2 MW S ea Gen 11
ORPC Technology Evolution Proprietary TGU is the core of three hydrokinetic power systems Beta TGU TidGen™ TidGen™ Power System Power System OCGen™ Power System Bottom mounted TGU for Floating OCGen™ Modules (stacked shallow tidal applications TGUs) for deep tidal and offshore ocean current applications RivGen™ Power System Bottom mounted TGU for remote river applications remote river applications 12
ORPC’s Beta Turbine Generator Unit (TGU) Weight: 13 tons Design capacity: Design capacity: 60 kilowatts 14 feet 14 feet S teel and tall composite TGU support frame Underwater Permanent Magnet Generator ADCF Turbine Visual Comparison –TGU & 6’ Tall Human
The Energy Tide 2 Barge Facts: 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 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 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 single point mooring system Flo w
ORPC’s Beta TGU and ET2 15
Energy Tide 2 at mooring
Beta TGU turbine first rotations
TidGen™ Device - a closer look • Tidgen™ TGU will be rated at 150-200kW in a 6 knot current • TidGen™ TGU Will utilize (4) Beta sized turbines – 8.5 ft dia. X 18 ft long each 18 ft long each • TidGen™ TGU will be 90’ x 14’ and 30’ above the seafloor • TidGen™ TidGen™ Devices and Devices and Bottom frame will weigh approximately 60 tons and will be separately installed installed • TidGen™ Device footprint will consist of (4) 6’ diameter feet. 18
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 1/ 10 the weight and amount of materials for bottom attachment decreasing cost of the attachment system. • OCGen TM Modules will minimize • OCGen TM Modules will minimize benthic disturbance with as little as (4) 2’ diameter footprints per module 19
ORPC’s Cook Inlet Tidal Energy Project 20
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) Mean speed (m/s) 1 05 1.05 1 08 1.08 1 12 1.12 1 28 1.28 Max sustained speed (m/s) 2.73 2.93 2.91 2.78 Ebb/flood asymmetry 0.97 0.95 0.96 0.85 Vertical shear (m/s per m) 0.0108 0.0236 0.0178 0.028 Power NaN NaN NaN NaN Mean power density (kW/m 2 ) 1.28 1.51 1.34 1.71 Ebb/flood asymmetry 0.91 0.91 0.88 0.55 Direction NaN NaN NaN NaN Principle axis (deg) 139 132 137 66 Standard deviation (deg) 11 6 12 4 Ebb/flood asymmetry (deg) 15.1 4.1 26.3 6.2 21
What is the long term potential of Tidal Energy on The Railbelt? h lb l • Overall resource is little understood - Cairn Point area Alone has at least 117MW of average power 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 N th I l t d K h k B ld lik l contribute up to 100 MW • S taggered phases of inlet tides will allow for predictable energy delivery and provide capacity for b baseload power l d • In combination with the development of other Cook Inlet Region renewable resources such as Fire Island Wind and other wind proj ects, Mt. S purr Geothermal, and traditional hydro proj ects, Tidal Energy could be a d di i l h d j Tid l E ld b significant part of a diversified and robust renewable energy portfolio to extend natural gas viability and supply the maj ority of Railbelt energy needs
Thank you Questions? www. ocea nr enewa bl epower. com 23
Turbine spinning
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