Offshore Wind, Wave, and Tidal Energy Resources and Technologies

Offshore Wind, Wave, and Tidal Energy Resources and Technologies

George Hagerman

VCERC Director of Research Virginia Tech Advanced Research Institute 4300 Wilson Blvd., Suite 750 Arlington, VA 22203

Email: hagerman@vt.edu Phone: 703-387-6030

City of Virginia Beach Energy Alternatives Open House

Virginia Beach, VA

04 December 2008

Initial VCERC Projects Funded by State Budget in FY2007-08

1. Feasibility-level design and economic assessment for a hypothetical reference baseline offshore wind power project

2. Preliminary mapping of offshore areas suitable for offshore wind power development, with identification of military training areas, shipping lanes, commercial fishing grounds, and marine and avian habitats

3. Evaluation of economic development potential of commercial offshore wind power development and associated workforce training needs, and planning for an ocean test bed

4. Feasibility-level design and economic assessment for an algae-to-biodiesel culture and processing system

Paliria Energy, Inc.

U.S. Offshore Wind Resources

Mid-AtlanticClass 5 & 6

Great LakesClass 5 & 6

Pacific NWClass 5, 6 & 7

Great PlainsClass 3, 4 & 5

S CaliforniaClass 4, 5 & 6

Gulf of MaineClass 6

SoutheastClass 4, 5 & 6

Nearly 80% of U.S. Electricity Demand is in Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico or Great Lakes States

Twenty-eight coastal states in contiguous U.S. consume 78% of U.S. electrical energy

Nearly 60% of U.S. Population Lives in Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico or Great Lakes States

Twenty-eight coastal states in contiguous U.S. are home to 58% of population

US Offshore Wind Resources Located Near Coastal Metropolitan Load Centers

Hampton Roads Area has Unique Features Favorable for Offshore Wind Power Development

Minimal probability of major hurricane strike

(Categories 3 through 5)

Robust coastal transmission gridClass 6 ( ) wind

energy resource located within 10-15 miles (16-24 km) of shoreline and close to major, growing centers of power demand 500 kV

115 kV

230 kV

Pale blue region indicates uncertain wind map accuracy

beyond 25 km offshore

Typical Offshore Wind Farm Layout

Monopile Foundations Driven into Seabed and Transition Pieces Grouted on Top

Horns Rev 2-MW Turbines Installed Using Self-Propelled A2 SEA Vessels

North Hoyle 2-MW Turbines Installed Using Towed Seacore Jack-Up Rigs

As Wind Turbines Increase in Size, Ability to Transport and Handle on Land Becomes Limited

General Electric 3.6 MW104-m rotor diameter

(Boeing 747-400wing span = 65 m)

REpower 5 MW126-m rotor diameter

(Washington Monumentheight = 170 m)

GIS Analysis and Mapping of Resource

Focus on 50 MMS lease blocks and avoid all excluded areas MMS lease blocks are 4.8 km x 4.8 km, with each block having 7 x 7 turbines.

Turbines spaced 685 m apart (7.6 rotor diameters)

Each lease block could contain 49 turbines

= 147 MW per block with Vestas model V-90 3 MW

= 6.4 MW per km2

GIS layers and calculations by Remy Luerssen, James Madison University

Class 6 Winds are Largely Beyond the Visual Horizon

12 n.mi.

Photo simulation of Long Island offshore wind project

Class 6 Winds are Largely Beyond the Visual Horizon

Beyond the Territorial Sea Limit of 12 n.mi., turbines would be barely visible, and then only on the clearest days

12 n.mi.

Photo simulation of Long Island offshore wind project

Class 6 Winds Beyond the Visual Horizon Could Be a Major Electricity Source for Virginia

Beyond the Territorial Sea Limit of 12 n.mi., turbines would be barely visible, and then only on the clearest days

12 n.mi.

Photo simulation of Long Island offshore wind project

Total available area of Class 6 beyond 12 n.mi. is 575.6 sq.km (142,500 acres); could support 3,680 MW of wind capacity.

Class 6 Winds Beyond the Visual Horizon Could Be a Major Electricity Source for Virginia

Beyond the Territorial Sea Limit of 12 n.mi., turbines would be barely visible, and then only on the clearest days

12 n.mi.

Photo simulation of Long Island offshore wind project

Total available area of Class 6 beyond 12 n.mi. is 575.6 sq.km (142,500 acres); could support 3,680 MW of wind capacity.

With an average annual capacity factor of 40%, this could generate 12.9 million MWh per year.

Class 6 Winds Beyond the Visual Horizon Could Be a Major Electricity Source for Virginia

Beyond the Territorial Sea Limit of 12 n.mi., turbines would be barely visible, and then only on the clearest days

12 n.mi.

Photo simulation of Long Island offshore wind project

Total available area of Class 6 beyond 12 n.mi. is 575.6 sq.km (142,500 acres); could support 3,680 MW of wind capacity.

This is about 1/3 of what coal-fired power plants now generate in VA, or slightly more than half of what nuclear plants now produce.

Early, Meaningful Engagement of Local Stakeholders Essential to Success

Comparing Electrical Energy Potential from Offshore Gas with Offshore Wind for Virginia

Estimated total recoverable gas reserves on Virginia’s OCS from MMS Proposed Oil & Gas Leasing Program:

= 327 billion cu.ft. (BCF)

Divide by heat rate of 8.1E-06 BCF/MWh

= 40,322,624 MWh

Again assume a 40-year lease with 15 years to explore and develop, and 25 years to produce

A 526 MW offshore wind project operating at 35% average capacity factor would generate this same amount of electrical energy over a service life of 25 years

MMS Proposed Oil & Gas Leasing Program for 2007-2012 has lease sale scheduled for Virginia OCS in 2011, contingent upon lifting of Presidential withdrawal and Congressional moratorium

While it is Tempting to Consider a Choice: Offshore Wind OR Offshore Natural Gas …

Area covered by 526 MW wind project would be less than four MMS lease blocks (92 km2)

MMS tentative gas lease sale area east of 50-mile buffer is 11,800 km2

… Consider Offshore Wind AND Gas in a Hybrid Project for Firm, Dispatchable Power

ADVANTAGES:

• Provides high-value baseload power

• Avoids utility need for land-based “spinning reserve” to accommodate wind variability

• Submarine power cable to shore more secure, with less environmental impact than gas pipeline

• Avoids onshore siting challenge of finding cooling water for land-based gas power plants

• Prolongs offshore gas reservoir life for more secure future

Eclipse Energy’s Ormonde Hybrid Project off the Coast of Wales to Come on Line in 2010

See www.seapower-generation.co.uk/english/ormonde.htm for more information

Thank You!

Any questions?

Email: hagerman@vt.edu

Two Basic Forms of Hydrokinetic Energy

CURRENTS• Activating force flows in same

direction for at least a few hours• Tidal, river, and ocean variants• Conversion technology is some

sort of submerged turbine

WAVES• Activating force reverses

direction every 5 to 20 seconds• Conversion technology can be

floating or submerged, with a wide variety of devices still being invented and developed

Gulf Stream a Potential Resource off Outer Banks of North Carolina

Surface current and SST animation: April – July 2005

Surface current speed vector scale

Steep continental slope limits Gulf Stream meanders (but does not prevent -- see first few days of animation)

UK-Based Marine Current Turbines

300 kW prototype (11-m rotor diameter) operating in Bristol Channel since May 2003; not connected to grid) Commercial array would consist

of 1.2 MW, twin-rotor units, with individual rotor diameter of 16 m

Upstream, two-blade rotor; blades pitch 180° to accommodate reversing flow

www.marineturbines.com

US-Based Verdant Power

Six-turbine, 200 kW array installed May 2007 in east channel of East River, New York City

35 kW turbine with downstream 3-bladed rotor, 5-m in diameter, which yaws to accommodate reversing flow

www.verdantpower.com

FLOW

Ireland-Based OpenHydro

www.openhydro.com

First developer to use the European Marine

Energy Centre tidal stream field test site in

the Orkney Islands. Photos show EMEC

field test rig with 6-m diameter turbine rated

at 250 kW capacity.Turbine submerged Turbine raised

Permanent magnet rotor in rim – stator coils in cowling

Rotor reverses rotation direction when tide turns

Wind Over Water Generates Waves

The amount of energy transferred from the wind to the waves depends on the mean wind speed, how long it blows and the distance (fetch) over which it blows.

Wave generating area may be bounded by coastlines or by extent of wind system

Wave Energy Devices Highly Diverse

Floating Point Absorber

(AquaBuOY)

Fixed Oscillating Water Column Terminator (Oceanlinx )

Floating Attenuator (Pelamis)

Floating Overtopping Terminator (Wave Dragon)

Floating Attenuator: Pelamis

Power module at front of each tube section contains two hydraulic cylinders that are stroked by relative pitch and yaw between adjacent sections

relative PITCH

relative YAW

TOP VIEW

SIDE VIEW

www.oceanpd.com

Pelamis Sea Trials and Pilot Plant

3.5 m dia x 150 m long

Pelamis 750 kW prototype installed in August of 2004 in 50 m water depth, 2 km offshore the European Marine Energy Centre, Orkney, UK

Three 750 kW modules installed summer 2007 in a 2.25 MW pilot plant off northern Portugal

Technology Development Pyramid

Long-term (>1 yr duration) prototypes in the ocean

(typically 100 kW to 2 MW)

Short-term (days to months) tests in rivers, bays or lakes

(typically 10 kW to 100 kW)

Rigorous laboratory tow- or wave-tank

physical model tests (1/50- to 1/5-scale)

a few dozen

hundreds

a few

It typically takes 5 to 10 years for a technology to progress from concept-only (not in pyramid)

to deployment of a long-term prototype