Wave energy plants in Brazil

[Downunder]

Will it be the poorer nations that utilize and adapt to "green" power solutions faster, as they struggle to afford natural resource energy?

 

Brazil has seen its first generation of wave power after a machine has started generating energy in the country’s coastal waters. The wave converter prototype has started producing power as part of the Brazil Electricity Regulatory Agency’s (ANEEL) R&D project.

 

 

 

The prototype, which is located on the coast of Porto do Pecém, in São Gonçalo do Amarante, Ceará, has successfully powered all lighting, air conditioning and auxiliary systems in a research plant in the area. This development is an important step for onshore wave power generation in Brazil.

 

 

 

ANEEL said: “This small generation of power represents a great progress, as the Brazilian coast presents good conditions for energy use, due to its proximity to consumers in cities with high population density.”

 

 

 

Rio-based COPPE Submarine Technology Laboratory developed and installed the 50 KW prototype, which consists of two modules, each with a floater, branch and pump. Once fixed on break water, these contribute to a single set of turbines, generator and hyperbaric chamber. ANEEL claims the prototype’s “easy production” gives it an edge over others available on the market.

 

 

 

An additional advantage of this technology is the potential for coupling it with desalinisation systems, ANEEL said. Desalinisation by reverse osmosis is an efficient way to obtain drinkable water from the sea.

 

 

 

The prototype and research plant are part of the “Deployment of Onshore Waves Converter Prototype on Sea Conditions of the Northeast of Brazil” project. Operations and trials for the prototype continue at the plant. The project will continue for 36 months.

 

 

 

[MEDIA=liveleak]606_1418861624[/MEDIA]

 

 

[bexrbetter]

This would be fantastic for Australia as we have;

 

1/ Close proximity of major population concentrations to narly waves Dude.

 

2/ Intelligent, go get 'em Scientists, Investors and Developers.

 

3/ The Liberal or Labour Governme ..... oh craps, forget about it.

 

 

[turboplanner]

This concept has been around for at least 40 years, but never seems to get off the ground. I'm not sure why, but the power return doesn't seem to be cost effective.

 

 

[skeptic36]

This concept has been around for at least 40 years, but never seems to get off the ground. I'm not sure why, but the power return doesn't seem to be cost effective.

Same for wind turbines, but they keep building those. You just need a bit of taxpayer funding that's all......

 

 

[dazza 38]

This concept has been around for at least 40 years, but never seems to get off the ground. I'm not sure why, but the power return doesn't seem to be cost effective.

I watched a doco on various designs and all of them failed one way or another due to the ocean destroying bits and pieces. Very maintenance intensive, like wind turbines, but the tree huggers would love them.

 

 

[pmccarthy]

I disagree. The tree huggers hate everything. They will come out against hydro power, coal seam gas, shale oil, wind turbines, solar farms, so why wouldnt they object to these?

 

 

[bexrbetter]

I disagree. The tree huggers hate everything. They will come out against hydro power, coal seam gas, shale oil, wind turbines, solar farms, so why wouldnt they object to these?

 

...and they'll darn well get on the internet burning up electricity to tell you so too!

 

I think land based, 'blow hole theory' turbines are a good thing other than they over complicate the blow-suck mechanisms, let me find an example ...

 

 

[Marty_d]

I disagree. The tree huggers hate everything. They will come out against hydro power, coal seam gas, shale oil, wind turbines, solar farms, so why wouldnt they object to these?

I don't know what "tree huggers" you talk to, but personally in that list I'd only be against shale oil and CSG.

 

 

[Marty_d]

Will it be the poorer nations that utilize and adapt to "green" power solutions faster, as they struggle to afford natural resource energy?

Brazil has seen its first generation of wave power after a machine has started generating energy in the country’s coastal waters. The wave converter prototype has started producing power as part of the Brazil Electricity Regulatory Agency’s (ANEEL) R&D project.

 

 

 

The prototype, which is located on the coast of Porto do Pecém, in São Gonçalo do Amarante, Ceará, has successfully powered all lighting, air conditioning and auxiliary systems in a research plant in the area. This development is an important step for onshore wave power generation in Brazil.

 

 

 

ANEEL said: “This small generation of power represents a great progress, as the Brazilian coast presents good conditions for energy use, due to its proximity to consumers in cities with high population density.”

 

 

 

Rio-based COPPE Submarine Technology Laboratory developed and installed the 50 KW prototype, which consists of two modules, each with a floater, branch and pump. Once fixed on break water, these contribute to a single set of turbines, generator and hyperbaric chamber. ANEEL claims the prototype’s “easy production” gives it an edge over others available on the market.

 

 

 

An additional advantage of this technology is the potential for coupling it with desalinisation systems, ANEEL said. Desalinisation by reverse osmosis is an efficient way to obtain drinkable water from the sea.

 

 

 

The prototype and research plant are part of the “Deployment of Onshore Waves Converter Prototype on Sea Conditions of the Northeast of Brazil” project. Operations and trials for the prototype continue at the plant. The project will continue for 36 months.

 

 

 

[MEDIA=liveleak]606_1418861624[/MEDIA]

Good idea. Now let's adapt it.

 

At any port around the country you have thousands of yachts bobbing up and down 363 days of the year.

 

Retrofit the ports so that the moorings have mechanical arms instead of ropes, require any boat that wants to park there to install a coupling bracket, and there you go. Thousands of ready-made "floats" producing power.

 

 

[cooperplace]

storms always wreck them. About a year or two ago, someone in SA built one and tried to tow it to its final site and rough seas wrecked it before it got there. The problem with wave energy is that inevitably a massive storm comes along. A wind turbine's blades can be feathered, but the wave generator is always in the sea.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

This concept has been around for at least 40 years, but never seems to get off the ground. I'm not sure why, but the power return doesn't seem to be cost effective.

... And never will be while burning coal is subsidised.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

wind power is slowly gaining critical mass, 4.8GW scheduled to be coming online in 2015 after 1.3GW this year.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

wind power is slowly gaining critical mass, 4.8GW scheduled to be coming online in 2015 after 1.3GW this year.

...good news, and in spite of Uncle Joe, who finds them offensive to look at!

 

 

[Marty_d]

...good news, and in spite of Uncle Joe, who finds them offensive to look at!

They probably think the same about him.

 

 

[Guest Captain1]

The Wollongong Wave Generator was another outstanding environmental success story.

 

 

 

The spiel by Oceanlinx was equally impressive but they went broke owing about $10 M.

 

 

 

However it looks like taxpayers weren't sucked into subsidising this one.

 

 

 

If only the Government had given them another say $20 M they might have got it commercialised.

 

 

 

 

[facthunter]

The first powered aeroplane didn't perform to anything like an economical level for commercial aviation either . It took about 60 years of development to get the cost to where it is now per seat mile. Nev

 

 

[Marty_d]

The Wollongong Wave Generator was another outstanding environmental success story.

 

 

 

The spiel by Oceanlinx was equally impressive but they went broke owing about $10 M.

 

 

 

However it looks like taxpayers weren't sucked into subsidising this one.

 

 

 

If only the Government had given them another say $20 M they might have got it commercialised.

 

 

Yep, there's no point in trying anything new. It won't work. Give up.

 

Oh, and there's no point in Australia investing in renewables even though that's the way the rest of the world is going, we should just sit back and sell minerals because China will never slow consumption and the price of iron ore and coal will never go down.

 

Thank god the Liberal party are cutting the CSIRO budget, the last thing we need is scientists running around trying to tell us things we don't want to hear.

 

 

[Guest Captain1]

Yep, there's no point in trying anything new. It won't work. Give up.

Oh, and there's no point in Australia investing in renewables even though that's the way the rest of the world is going, we should just sit back and sell minerals because China will never slow consumption and the price of iron ore and coal will never go down.

 

Thank god the Liberal party are cutting the CSIRO budget, the last thing we need is scientists running around trying to tell us things we don't want to hear.

G'day Marty,

 

 

 

Just 2 of the reasons why the present spending needs to be reigned in is that the ratbag Green/Labour Government frittered away the previous surplus and the benefits of the last boom by throwing money at their "Kill-an-Installer" pink batts feel good nonsense and then went on to throw more money at foreign companies who built school sheds, some of which are smaller than my farm shed for 4 times what anyone else would pay (and many of those school sheds didn't even have cladded walls).

 

 

 

Don't blame Abbott and Hockey ......... blame Swan, Garrett et al led by the succession of failed idiots like Rudd & Gillard who pissed the nation's wealth up against a wall on ratbag feel-good projects that kept the Greens on side. Not to mention the Solar subsidies where their budget estimates were out by a factor of "Lots".

 

 

 

The ruling "Lawyer Classes" really do have a lot to answer for, on both sides of politics.

 

 

 

If you ran your household budget like those idiots ran the national budget, you'd be shirtless in no time.

 

 

 

And I make that comment as someone who owned part of a company that commercialised CSIRO inventions, so I know and respect what the CSIRO can do when they aren't politically motivated, or prostituting themselves chasing the green subsidies.

 

 

 

As I have said before here, if you value your health, never get between Sarah Hanson-Young and a TV camera, and never get between a Scientist and a pot of conditional money.

 

 

 

Regards Geoff

 

 

[fly_tornado]

you would be nuts to try and develop technology like that in Australia, America venture capitalists would happily throw $100M for a patentable technology.

 

Off shore wind turbine technology and PV solar seems to be winning the commercialization race

 

 

[Guest Captain1]

you would be nuts to try and develop technology like that in Australia, America venture capitalists would happily throw $100M for a patentable technology.

Off shore wind turbine technology and PV solar seems to be winning the commercialization race

G'day again Flighty,

 

 

 

You may not have realised it, but "American Venture Capitalists" are not constrained by national borders. Their money is available here if you have something worthwhile and can convince them that it is.

 

 

 

Regards Geoff

 

 

[Marty_d]

G'day Marty, 

 

Just 2 of the reasons why the present spending needs to be reigned in is that the ratbag Green/Labour Government frittered away the previous surplus and the benefits of the last boom by throwing money at their "Kill-an-Installer" pink batts feel good nonsense and then went on to throw more money at foreign companies who built school sheds, some of which are smaller than my farm shed for 4 times what anyone else would pay (and many of those school sheds didn't even have cladded walls). Don't blame Abbott and Hockey ......... blame Swan, Garrett et al led by the succession of failed idiots like Rudd & Gillard who pissed the nation's wealth up against a wall on ratbag feel-good projects that kept the Greens on side.

 

 

 

If you ran your household budget like those idiots ran the national budget, you'd be shirtless in no time.

 

 

 

And I make that comment as someone who owned part of a company that commercialised CSIRO inventions, so I know and respect what the CSIRO can do when they aren't politically motivated, or prostituting themselves chasing the green subsidies.

 

 

 

As I have said before here, if you value your health, never get between Sarah Hanson-Young and a TV camera, and never get between a Scientist and a pot of conditional money.

 

 

 

Regards Geoff

Hi Geoff,

 

For all the faults of the previous Government, and they were many, saving the economy from the recession that hit most of the rest of the world is one of their wins. The fact that they spent that money to keep the economy rolling was a good thing. Could they have done it better? Of course they could. But show me a government that does anything well when it has to be done in a hurry, and this did.

 

Tony Abbott and his crew made heaps of political capital by blaming Labor for spending too much, and have bleated since about inheriting massive debt - in fact it gets trotted out as the excuse every time they stuff up. (They also made much of Julia's broken promises and man, how the boot is on the other foot now!) Then he gets into government on promises that he won't cut anything, but WILL remove the carbon tax, will remove the mining tax, pay for "direct action" on climate change, pay rich women to have babies AND somehow get the budget back into surplus.

 

If you want to talk about wasting the benefits of the boom, why don't we talk about the original tax on super profits that Labor tried to get up. What happened to that? A $20m tv campaign by the miners, harping negativity from their servants in the Liberal party, and down it went.

 

What should have happened is a Sovereign Wealth Fund like that of Norway. They set it up in 1990 to retain some of the benefits of North Sea oil mining, and now it's worth more than AUD$ 916.9 BILLION. And very wisely, they limit government spending of it to 4%, which is still around $36 billion. But of course, government actually making a profit on anything is anathema to the LNP's world view, so we will never do anything so sensible.

 

As I have said before, if you want to get the budget back into shape then look at ditching negative gearing and tax concessions on large superannuation. Take the fat from where it is, rather than trying to cut it from the least wealthy.

 

Cheers, Marty

 

 

[fly_tornado]

Geoff, good news, the LNP have outlawed climate change restrictions on building on the foreshore. Time to move north and enjoy your retirement in real comfort

 

 

 

[turboplanner]

Yep, there's no point in trying anything new. It won't work. Give up.

Oh, and there's no point in Australia investing in renewables even though that's the way the rest of the world is going, we should just sit back and sell minerals because China will never slow consumption and the price of iron ore and coal will never go down.

 

Thank god the Liberal party are cutting the CSIRO budget, the last thing we need is scientists running around trying to tell us things we don't want to hear.

I must check up on the team, which went round the entire coast of Australia several years ago, documenting extensive groin constructions, sea wall extensions, and massive erosion of localised geological formations.

 

 

[turboplanner]

Tony Abbott and his crew made heaps of political capital by blaming Labor for spending too much, and have bleated since about inheriting massive debt

Good news Marty, they've listened, and if you liked the deficits under Labor, your're going to love the macro deficits coming up.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

The Wollongong Wave Generator was another outstanding environmental success story.

 

 

 

The spiel by Oceanlinx was equally impressive but they went broke owing about $10 M.

 

 

 

However it looks like taxpayers weren't sucked into subsidising this one.

 

 

 

If only the Government had given them another say $20 M they might have got it commercialised.

It is quite disappointing to read this negativity from a Captain of industry. Our current wealth grew out of the Industrial Revolution, during which entrepreneurs enjoyed considerable support from governments. Even so, many of their ventures failed, with far greater damage to lives and fortunes than this wave power venture has cost.

 

Australia, the land of the (kn)ocker.