Wind turbine towers are very strong and can support elevators which can install and replace nacelles, complete rotors or single blades.
MEC's wind turbine tower elevator makes nacelle and blade installations and replacements possible for MEC's new telescopic wind turbine towers. The elevators eliminate the need for onshore and offshore installation cranes spreads, their associated weather delays, their safety problems, their high costs, etc.
The elevator is:
Current Catcher Barges:
Current pressure is maintained on each turbine blade as it passes over the concave plates directly under the blades. The concave plate has a slightly larger radius than the radius of the tips of the turbine blades, which rotate over the under turbine plates. The concave area of the under turbine plates has an arc length longer than the arc length between the tips of three adjacent turbine blades. Pressure is maintained on each high drag-coefficient turbine blade thanks to the pressure chamber between the concave plates, the buoyant can and the turbine blade ends plates.
Significant improvements in the design continue further maximizing pressure on the blades, maximizing power generation and lowering costs.
Section 4 details illustrate many ways the current catcher barges can be moored to accommodate different water depths, current headings changes, environmental conditions, etc.
The turbine blades are turn by the current and are very large minimizing danger to marine life. Marine life can swim safely with the current and the blades, which can also be screened for additional animal safety.
The Super Watt Wave Catcher Barges’ vertical mooring lines are for power generation and its horizontal mooring lines are for storm survival. The barge’s large flat bottom and bow collect significant vertical and horizontal wave force which is used to generate electricity. Reinforced rubber mooring belts are used at the top of the vertical mooring lines to cycle over the barge’s articulated corner pullies. The belts are similar to car timing belts with long service lives and resistant to sea water. The articulated corner pullies allow the belts to move freely during operating wave conditions and allow them to be suspended loosely and harmlessly during storm conditions. The vertical mooring system uses gravity weights on the seabed which prevent the vertical mooring line load from accidentally exceeding design load during operating conditions. The vertical mooring lines are slacked off during large storm conditions.
A 1/50thscale model test was carried out on the “Super Watt Wave Catcher Barge" by the US DOE. The DOE’s model test results closely matched the 3D time domain computer analyses carried out by COTEC. MEC estimates the full-scale barge has the potential to produce 24 megawatts of power allowing it utility scale commercial viability. MEC is evaluating cost-effective PTOs to achieve that potential at this time. The Super Watt Wave Catcher Barge has been patented in 5 countries. MEC’s patent includes multiple mooring system options allowing the barge’s use in a wide range of sizes, water depths, wave headings and wave conditions.
Super Watt Wave Catcher Barges© are modeled after large oceangoing deck cargo barges which transport domestically and internationally some of the largest equipment packages in the world. Their flat plate construction is the lowest cost type of vessel construction and can be built rapidly in most countries.
They however have high RAOs of nearly 1.0 and ride the waves. This is ideal for wave power generation.
The inside of the barge and on its large top deck can be used for power generation equipment and provide safe and enclosed above-water work environments with boat and year-round helicopter access, etc.
MEC is evaluating several PTO options for achieving the barge’s maximum power potential including:
Floating wind turbines are being located a significant distance from shore minimizing visual pollution, mammal migration routes, shipping lanes, etc. Wave Energy Converters will not be as visible so may not need to be located initially a significant distance from shore; however, both power systems could benefit from using shared infrastructure including: power hub, transmission / control lines, etc. reducing cost for both.
Like the offshore oil and gas business, offshore blocks are being sold to power companies for the development of offshore renewable energy. In the offshore oil and gas, oil and gas companies have either laid pipelines to shore directly or tied their pipelines into an existing pipeline and pay a tariff to the existing pipeline owners for its use. The tie-in agreements usually required the crude or gas to meet a certain quality and pressure standards to be allowed to enter the pipelines. Pipeline hubs often use surface metering or surface pressure boosting, etc. Shared renewable power hubs with topside equipment, maintenance crew accommodation, helicopters, etc. may be used in a similar manner.
A shared use of infrastructure is also expected for offshore power generation including power hubs and power transmission lines. When power generator units are long distances from shore, significant power losses are likely. This can be avoided by adding transformers and inverters on the individual units, significantly increasing the CAPEX and OPEX of individual units. Alternatively, transformers and inverters can be located on a shared local power hub, which WECs and wind turbines could both use. A local power hub will allow short power lines to be laid to the power hub and allow the power hub to monitor and control of individual units. The power hub can support switchgear, transformers, inverters, import and export umbilicals, a helideck, maintenance crew quarters, local crew boats, etc. Central power hubs can support both offshore wind power and WEC power at the same time, monitor each unit for real time client information and control and tariff charges.
Marine Energy Corporation Power Hubs can be designed to supply all of these shared infrastructure functions. Marine Energy Corporation Power Hubs can operate in shallow and deep water locations, far from shore, support and protect many types and sizes of power / control umbilicals. Wind turbines and Wave Energy Converters are very likely to be required to be located far offshore so they are difficult to see from shore and cause minimum visual pollution. Marine Energy Corporation calls its floating power hub the “Marine Energy Corporation Power Hub”, which can import power from many types of offshore renewable energy sources, including wind turbines and wave energy convertors. Maintenance crews can travel to and from Marine Energy Corporation Power Hubs by helicopter or crew boat to and from the individual units. Marine Energy Corporation Ocean Fortress Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms, Power Hubs, Desalination Plants, etc. can be used around the world.
Rivers, streams and tidal estuaries are a huge power source with as yet untapped potential. The Governments of the world have helped build huge dams across rivers to create very large and deep reservoirs for water storage and power generation. The planning permissions, environmental impact studies, CAPEX, etc. for new traditional hydroelectric power have almost stopped new construction.
MEC’s new low-pressure modular turbines, on the other hand, open up the potential of yet untapped rivers and stream locations by only flooding these waterways to their existing banks. The small dams or weirs needed by MEC’s low pressure turbine power generation systems eliminate most of the hurdles faced by new traditional hydroelectric projects. Planning permission will always be a hurdle, but that hurdle should be much faster to overcome thanks the additional water storage, minimum environmental impact, land value increases, recreations benefits, etc. There are over 80,000 reservoirs in the US alone that have no power generation. Low pressure MEC turbines can turn those reservoirs into power storage and power generation projects all over the country lowering power transmission costs and power losses. MEC’s low CAPEX, low-pressure modular turbines can be built, transported and installed very rapidly and the turbines designed to avoid high water level in rivers, streams and tidal estuaries.
This section lists the patents awarded to the Marine Energy Corporation which support Marine Renewable Energy. If you think that some of this technology has significant potential, as we do, please contact us. We would love to hear from you and potentially work together on further commercial development.
Copies of these patents can be downloaded for free from the US Government “USPTO” website: https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/static/pages/ppubsbasic.html
Marine Energy Corporation
Kirtomy:
Thurso, Scotland KW147TB UK
+44 (0)1641 406 001
London:
71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden,
London, WC2H 9JQ UK
Company Registration Number: 09722662
Vat Registration Number: 226126336
Houston:
1302 Waugh Drive, PMB #465,
Houston, Texas 77019-3908 USA
+1-832-654-4003