UPDATED 1 Sept: The EI library in London is temporarily closed to the public, as a precautionary measure in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The Knowledge Service will still be answering email queries via email , or via live chats during working hours (09:15-17:00 GMT). Our e-library is always open for members here: eLibrary , for full-text access to over 200 e-books and millions of articles. Thank you for your patience.
New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
New turbine blade a ‘step change’ for tidal energy
1/11/2023
News
A state-of-the-art tidal turbine blade has been manufactured in Scotland by design engineers from the University of Edinburgh.
The team, based at FastBlade, in Fife, Scotland, say the new structure reduces the amount of materials necessary – bringing down the weight, volume and the cost of manufacturing the blade.
Dr Eddie McCarthy, University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering, says: ‘This project represents a major step change in our group’s capacity to manufacture tidal blades at reasonable size scale (around 3 metres long) at a reasonable speed – we began the project in October 2022. We have found a faster, cheaper route to manufacture than the usual tidal blade fabrication process, based on an altered design. We hope the combination of improved design and optimised manufacturing process will contribute to reducing the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of tidal stream energy, with the long-term goal of matching LCOE of offshore wind.’
Currently, the UK contract price for tidal stream energy is around £178/MWh, compared to £65/MWh for offshore wind, with the high generation cost a barrier to its development.
Lead design engineer Professor Dilum Fernando adds: ‘This is the first time this type of structure has been used in blade manufacturing. Its monolithic structure eliminates the weaker adhesive joints found in conventional rotor blades, which will make it more resilient to tidal stream conditions.’
Four completed blades have been deployed in QED’s Subhub tidal platform, currently undergoing sea trials in Langstone Harbour on the south coast of England, with the University of Edinburgh team looking for funding to carry out detailed testing of a fifth blade at FastBlade.
