Author Topic: Wind powered ferry.  (Read 1546 times)

Jocko

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Wind powered ferry.
« on: February 21, 2018, 10:24:29 AM »
How about a wind powered ferry? Well sort of. Earlier I posted links to the wind and water powered turbines, generating energy in Orkney, and how they had a surfeit of energy they were turning into hydrogen. Well now they are looking at the feasibility of a new ferry powered by the hydrogen, and not just while in port.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-43140326

To the visitor to Orkney, the wind is perhaps the most commented aspect of the islands' weather. Even in the summer there is an almost constant breeze (usually a Force three or four on average) and this can give a biting edge to the warmest of days.
« Last Edit: February 21, 2018, 10:26:25 AM by Jocko »

culzean

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Re: Wind powered ferry.
« Reply #1 on: February 21, 2018, 11:01:53 AM »
How about a wind powered ferry? Well sort of. Earlier I posted links to the wind and water powered turbines, generating energy in Orkney, and how they had a surfeit of energy they were turning into hydrogen. Well now they are looking at the feasibility of a new ferry powered by the hydrogen, and not just while in port.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-43140326

To the visitor to Orkney, the wind is perhaps the most commented aspect of the islands' weather. Even in the summer there is an almost constant breeze (usually a Force three or four on average) and this can give a biting edge to the warmest of days.

UK is one of the windiest places on the planet and even we can't get anything useful out of wind power,  wind is loafing along at less than 2% today (of 45GW) and solar less than 5% -  Coal, Nuclear and Gas working flat out as usual.  Thank goodness we don't rely on renewables for all our power needs.
Some people will only consider you an expert if they agree with your point of view or advice,  when you give them advice they don't like they consider you an idiot

sparky Paul

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Re: Wind powered ferry.
« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2018, 11:45:43 AM »
It's something that they have already mooted up in Orkney where they are using the stored hydrogen while the internal North Isles ferries are in dock.

The problem at the moment is that the internal fleet is at the end of it's life, and there is no real consensus what the future will be - more fixed road links or new boats. New boats could mean hydrogen-powered, but the Council doesn't have the money to properly fund any of the available options. The internal ferry operator in Orkney is a private operator wholly owned by Orkney Islands Council, and current thinking at OIC is to offload Orkney Ferries to the Scottish Government, or in other words nationalise it.

The Western Isles already have a similar arrangement, the main operator CalMac is owned by the Scottish Government, and several new boats have been funded recently.

Whilst national usage of wind power varies a great deal, there are areas like Orkney which have a much more reliable supply of wind power, and Orkney is self sufficient in electricity generation for the vast majority of the time. Indeed, Orkney usually has a surplus and exports electricity, but further development of wind generation is being curtailed by the size of the cable between Orkney and Scotland.

Jocko

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Re: Wind powered ferry.
« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2018, 01:35:43 PM »
They are also starting to produce energy from tidal turbines, which is a much overlooked renewable resource, due in the past to lack of funding and little research.

sparky Paul

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Re: Wind powered ferry.
« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2018, 04:30:01 PM »
They are also starting to produce energy from tidal turbines, which is a much overlooked renewable resource, due in the past to lack of funding and little research.
The energy from the Eday tidal turbine test rig is currently producing the hydrogen for the docked ferries. There is great potential in tidal turbines, the concentration on wind is undoubtedly due to it being a mature and relatively easy technology to implement.

On Shapinsay, they are going to use surplus wind power to produce hydrogen to feed into a catalytic boiler to heat the school, as well as export to Orkney Mainland, where it used in the hydrogen-electric shuttle bus service, a hydrogen refuelling station and eventually, a fleet of delivery vans.

Jocko

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Re: Wind powered ferry.
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2018, 04:40:47 PM »
The Scottish government Tidal Wave Energy Saltire Prize has not been won, probably due to the very high criteria.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-42832168

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