Advancements in wave energy technology (WEC) have been slow, mainly because of the harsh marine environments WECs must operate in, as well as the complex regulatory requirements. Tiffany Plate at NREL explains it’s why the U.S. Department of Energy and NREL have collaborated on the Small WEC Analysis tool, publicly available online. Its purpose is to provide baseline information about the performance of different types of WECs in various ocean … [Read more...]
An open-source standardised toolkit for modelling Marine Energy
New innovations need a lot of high quality modelling. That means collecting real world data, then coding the programs that run the models. This is labour intensive and takes time to do properly. The modelling needs to be standardised too, otherwise direct comparisons between competing ideas are virtually impossible. Caitlin McDermott-Murphy at NREL describes the latest version of their Marine and Hydrokinetic Toolkit (MHKiT)Â for modelling a wide … [Read more...]
New thermoplastic blades for coastal Tidal Energy turbines
Large-scale tidal power turbines provide an option for clean energy generation that doesn’t depend on the weather, like wind and solar. Research led by NREL is using, for the first time anywhere, thermoplastic composite blades that will improve fatigue performance over typical epoxy blades, can be manufactured faster and more energy-efficiently, and can be recycled. The test site is located in New York City's East River, installed in Verdant … [Read more...]
U.S. supports carbon capture R&D and commercialisation
Many are hoping that the new U.S. administration becomes a climate leader. Nowhere is leadership needed more than in the field of carbon capture. Most net zero pathways give it an essential and major role, yet the possible solutions are still in their infancy. Anne Canavati at the Atlantic Council looks at the new bills being passed in Washington that appear to be the beginnings of a serious push to develop and commercialise Carbon Dioxide … [Read more...]
