Concept for Renewable Energy from Waves and Underwater Current ( 2011/06/09 )
| The Baroque on Lamma (BoL) is pleased to co-operate with its Green Partners Messrs Motorwave Group which is one of the local experts in renewable energies. Over the years, they had developed, tested and installed numerous devices to capture wind and wave energy. The primary purpose of the breakwater at BoL is to protect the marina but the required construction method offer a unique opportunity to turn it into a power station to meet the increasing demand for clean energy. The following is an outline of the concept developed by the Motorwave Group: The Turbine Blocks The basic component for the energy generator is a precast concrete chamber that contains a water turbine. The density of water is 1,000 times that of air, hence water turbines are inherently hundred times more efficient than air turbines now commonly used. The precast concrete turbine chamber is structural and can therefore be used as the building block for the breakwater. Hundreds of these “turbine” blocks make up the breakwater and water flow through these blocks turns the turbines.  A special feature of the proposed system is that it generates compressed air instead of electricity, which makes the underwater component simple and easy to maintain. Part of the compressed air will then be used to generate electricity for devices that run on it. For purposes like heating and cooling, the compressed air can be used directly as the medium, hence at maximum efficiency. Similarly, it can also be used to drive other devices in lieu of electricity, including cars!   A Breeding Ground for Marine Life Regarding the effect on biodiversity, the wall of stacked chambers offers considerable amount of “gap” spaces that will be safe place for small fishes etc and will be immediately occupied by marine life. It is expected that corals will colonize if the water is suitable (temperature and PH) as is the case in most of the artificial reefs. This wall of stacked chambers actually has the effect of creating more seabed layers (like human apartments) that is beneficial to the marine ecology and fishery resources. With water at 1 to 2 ms the rotational speed of the turbines is pretty low at 7 to 8 RPM, at which speed no fish or marine life is expected to be caught by the blades. One must, however, prevent marine life or other substance such as plastic bags etc obstructing the inside of the turbine chambers, and regular maintenance will be needed. The Marine Ecology: Impact and Opportunity The Baroque on Lamma is constantly seeking assistance from marine scientists or ecologists to study how a breakwater benefits the marine ecology within and outside it. Our green partner, “The Ichthyological Society of Hong Kong” will be providing valuable advice and input on the impact on marine ecology and the opportunity that arise. We welcome more local scientists and experts to become our partner to turn the Baroque on Lamma into a successful and sustainable green community.
We are more than happy to communicate with different groups and introduce our project. We shall keep you updated on our latest news in Blog of Baroque. For enquiry, please e-mail to enquiry@bol-hk.com. Yours Sincerely, The Baroque on Lamma |
