Finavera Renewables : wave energy projects in South Africa

Finavera Renewables, a company developing wind and wave energy projects, has committed to build a 20 megawatt (MW) wave energy power plant off the coast of South Africa over the next five years.

Finavera Renewables CEO Jason Bak made the commitment at the annual Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) conference last week in New York.

Southern Africa suffers from intermittent power disruptions and a serious power crisis is expected to affect much of the region by 2007. Regional demand for electricity has already begun to outstrip supply and the disparity is expected to increase.

Finavera Renewables, through its wave energy division (former AquaEnergy Group Ltd), plans to build a phased 20MW wave energy power plant in the Republic of South Africa for a total investment of more than US$40 million over five years. The project will save US$2 million per year in fuel and avoid approximately 20,000 tons of CO2 emissions. A material percentage of the return from the project will be used to alleviate energy poverty and will provide economic benefits to local communities through the creation of jobs.

Finavera is in the process of acquiring 100% of AquaEnergy Group, Ltd (AE), developer of the AquaBuOY technology.

The AquaBuOY wave energy converter is based on proven buoy technology (previous post). AquaBuOY offshore plants consist of clusters of these modular devices, similar to navigational buoys, moored several kilometers offshore where the wave resources are greatest. A cluster of AquaBuOYs has a low silhouette in the water and from shore looks as noticeable as a small fleet of fishing boats. Features of the AquaBuOY include the following:

·  A unique hose-pump power take-off system that uses only water as its hydraulic liquid

·  A point absorbing omni-directional wave energy converter

·  A non-toxic, environmentally friendly material composition that meets the Kyoto Protocol Standards

·  A low riding silhouette that conforms to aesthetic sensitivities

·  An offshore power plant configuration that avoids interference with marine traffic and fishing

·  An economic alternative to fossil fuel power plants

·  A green energy power plant with construction and components supplied locally.

Energy transfer takes place by converting the vertical component of wave kinetic energy into pressurized seawater by means of two-stroke hose pumps. Pressurized seawater is directed into a conversion system consisting of a turbine driving an electrical generator. The power is transmitted to shore by means of an undersea transmission line.

The expected output from each AquaBuOY is 480V AC current, with power levels between 0 and 200 kW, and an estimated average output of 50kW (with an average wave resource of 30kW/m wave front).

It is claimed that these power plants are scalable from hundreds of kilowatts to hundreds of megawatts and are suitable for distributed generation to coastal communities, or central generation for large population centers.

In a project announced in July, the European Commission may contribute up to €1.37 million toward the deployment of a wave energy power plant off the coast of Portugal, subject to successful contract negotiations and completion of the internal, formal selection process. The monies would be used as a contribution to the deployment of a 2MW full scale wave energy conversion power plant in Portugal. The proposed power plant will be situated in

60 meters

of water approximately

10 kilometers

off the coastline midway between the Portuguese cities of Lisbon and Porto. Once successful operation of the plant has been demonstrated, the plant generating capacity is expected to be increased to 100MW.

AquaEnergy has also formed a consortium for the installation of a two megawatt demonstration power plant at Makah Bay, WA, USA,. The company recently completed oceanography surveys, and samplings. Surface measurement devices were also deployed to determine wind and wave intensities over a period of several months.  The company is currently designing and permitting the project and has encountered significant delays in the permitting process.

Finavera Renewables is a private, Irish company dedicated to the development of renewable energy resources and technologies. The Company is in the process of listing, through a reverse take over, on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company's objective is to become a major renewable and green energy producer by developing and operating its assets in the wind and wave energy sectors.

Finavera Renewables has twelve wind projects under development in the Peace River region in British Columbia, Canada with potential capacity of over 1,500MW on approximately

52,000 hectares

of land. In addition, the company is developing a potential 180MW of wind energy projects in Ireland, enough to power 108,000 average European homes.

Source : The Energy Blog