The transfer of oil and gas technology skills to the conceptual design and development of a novel low cost modular Tidal Energy Conversion deployment system.

Morse, Anthony T.

Abstract

This thesis outlines the use of a new design of Tidal Energy Conversion device which has application in near shore shallow water. The design is applicable for use by coastal communities, either to generate revenue through power sales or just a stand alone system to generate off grid electricity. Previous work conducted on large scale tidal installations have shown that they suffer from excessive costs and time lines, due to their up front design philosophy. This thesis discusses the reasons behind such cost/time overruns and concludes that several technologies and techniques can be incorporated from the subsea oil and gas industry. The early ethos in the offshore oil industry in the 1970s and 1980s was to build large offshore structures such as steel and concrete platforms. This has now been replaced by a field development philosophy that looks at simple lower cost subsea well infrastructure as the most cost effective route to exploit a reservoir. The emerging tidal industry has not learned this lesson, yet. A set of new Tidal Energy exploitation designs are proposed and Patented. The chief advantages of this new design are their modular nature, fabrication simplicity, lower build and installation cost. Prototype work is described and further work also highlighted.

Citation

MORSE, A.T. 2011. The transfer of oil and gas technology skills to the conceptual design and development of a novel low cost modular Tidal Energy Conversion deployment system. Robert Gordon University, PhD thesis.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Feb 1, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 1, 2013
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/798
• Contract Date: Feb 1, 2013
• Award Date: Jun 30, 2011