<
https://apnews.com/article/tidal-energy-turbine-marine-meygen-scotland-ffff3a7082205b33b612a1417e1ec6d6>
"Submerged in about 40 meters (44 yards) of water off Scotland’s coast, a
turbine has been spinning for more than six years to harness the power of ocean
tides for electricity — a durability mark that demonstrates the technology’s
commercial viability.
Keeping a large, or grid-scale, turbine in place in the harsh sea environment
that long is a record that helps pave the way for bigger tidal energy farms and
makes it far more appealing to investors, according to the trade association
Ocean Energy Europe. Tidal energy projects would be prohibitively expensive if
the turbines had to be taken out of the water for maintenance every couple of
years.
Tidal energy technologies are still in the early days of their commercial
development, but their potential for generating clean energy is big. According
to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, marine energy, a term researchers
use to refer to power generated from tides, currents, waves or temperature
changes, is the world’s largest untapped renewable energy resource.
The MeyGen tidal energy project off the coast of Scotland has four turbines
producing 1.5 megawatts each, enough electricity collectively to power up to
7,000 homes annually. On Thursday, the Swedish company SKF announced that its
bearings and seals on one of the turbines had passed the 6 1/2-year mark
without needing unplanned or disruptive maintenance. It has been working
closely with the industry for a decade on design and testing."
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-plastic-bag-bans-work/>
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
