FOCUS ON IRELAND
FEATURE SPONSOR
HYDROKINETIC TURBINES
There are two distinct ranges of products, small scale river devices up to 100kW being manufactured and sold by the company’s machine build partner, DesignPro Ltd and large scale tidal devices which are scalable up to 1MW and are suitable for larger rivers and oceans.
GKinetic Energy Ltd is developing a range of hydrokinetic turbines for both tidal and river flows TEST SITE
DEPLOYMENT AND TESTING The company first deployed a 1:10 scale device in the Limerick docks in 2015. Since then, there have been major technical milestones achieved thanks to SEAI, MaREI and Numerics Warehouse. In August 2017, GKinetic carried out tests on an improved prototype in the Limerick docks for a period of six weeks. The devices newly improved PTO system and blade performance were monitored with important data gathered.
30
www.wavetidalenergynetwork.co.uk
The Limerick docks test site is a custom facility setup by GKinetic and Shannon Foynes Port Company (SFPC) who operate the docks where an enclosed 450 metre tow-testing area offers a valuable stepping stone between the lab and open ocean for device developers. This testing was funded by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland who continue to show great support for projects that harness renewable energy from tidal flows.
GKinetic’s build partners, DesignPro Ltd are currently in the process of finding a test site for a 60kW machine. The device will start testing in September 2018 and will run for a minimum of 90 days uninterrupted. The 60kW device will require a minimum depth of 4.6m. For 60kW of energy to be produced, a flow
speed of 2.5 metres per second(m/s) is required.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT In 2020, GKinetic plan to deploy a 250kW device. This machine will have an 8 metre diameter and will be 8 metres long with twin turbines 3.2 metres in diameter and a blade length of 7 metres.
The insights gathered during the recent round of testing will contribute to the scaling up of the device and preparation for open water deployments.
GKinetic
WEBSITE
SCAN/CLICK
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49
