BIOPOWER SYSTEMS AWARDED $5 MILLION FROM VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT TOWARDS ITS $14 MILLION PILOT DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

Sydney, Australia; 1 December 2011:  Ocean energy company, BioPower Systems (BPS), today announced that the Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources, the Hon. Michael O’Brien MP, has awarded the company conditional funding support of $5 million under the Sustainable Energy Pilot Demonstration Program.

The funding will be applied towards the $14 million pilot demonstration of the company’s 250kW bioWAVE ocean wave energy system at a grid-connected site near Port Fairy, Victoria.

CEO, Dr Timothy Finnigan said.  

“In developing the bioWAVE technology we set out to address the many issues that have bedeviled most wave energy technologies.”

Inspired by the motion of large sea plants under wave action, and conscious of the costs and difficulties of doing development work in the ocean, BPS took the unusual step of spending five years performing multiple on land tests at increasing scale prior to ocean deployment. The most critical component has been tested at full scale at its factory in Mascot NSW (Sydney).

Dr Finnigan said.

“We are now ready for the ultimate test – installing the bioWAVE in high energy 30-metre deep ocean waters.  We have to raise another $3.6 million to complete the project funding, and given our results to date we are confident of achieving this in the coming months.  The technology has been positively assessed by more than a dozen independent reviewers.”

The unique bioWAVE differs from other wave technologies in three critical ways.

1. It is designed to generate grid compatible electricity ‘in situ’ and hence is connected to the shore via a sub sea electrical cable only. This gives good flexibility on locating the plant, opening up access to greater energy resources, while always transmitting the energy to shore efficiently as high voltage electricity.
2. During extreme wave conditions it will automatically assume a “safe” position lying flat against the seabed.  This reduces the structural design requirements (and hence cost) while maintaining reliability.
3. The design, utilising a patented wide “multi-blade” structure, is expected to capture a much higher proportion of the available energy than other designs.

Dr. Finnigan said.  

“We believe bioWAVE will, when fully commercially developed, produce electricity at a price highly competitive with wind and be closer to baseload characteristics than either wind or solar.  It is gratifying that the potential of the technology has been recognised by the Victorian Government.”

Twelve other organisations have signed on to contribute cash and in-kind support for the planned four-year pilot demonstration project, including key suppliers, manufacturers, consultants and three Australian universities.

Further Background

The bioWAVE consists of a structure that sways back and forth beneath the waves, integrated with a self-contained module (O-Drive) that converts the resulting oscillating forces to electricity by pressurising hydraulic fluid, which is used to spin a generator to produce electricity for delivery to the grid via a subsea cable. The technology is designed to operate in depths of 30 to 50 metres.  The critical O-Drive module has been fully tested at its commercial scale of 250kW (Note, a 1MW commercial-scale bioWAVE would utilise a set of four 250kW O-Drive modules, arranged in parallel).  The O-Drive is designed to be detached and easily retrieved for onshore servicing.  The energetic wave climate of the Southern Ocean is ideal for performance testing of the 250kW pilot-scale bioWAVE, which will be independently assessed and validated for potential commercial development.

Up to 23 new jobs will be created in Victoria during the project.  Following the pilot, there is significant opportunity for expansion in Victoria using commercial-scale 1MW bioWAVE systems, with the potential for 200 new jobs in the first five years. 

 

About BioPower Systems

Ocean energy company, BioPower Systems, is commercialising wave and tidal energy products that incorporate revolutionary designs based on the concept of biomimicry. BioPower Systems is designing its ocean energy products to naturally avoid extreme forces, using light-weight construction, resulting in significant cost savings. The proprietary bioWAVE and bioSTREAM products are intended for use in multi-unit farm installations for delivery of utility-scale clean renewable power to onshore distribution grids.

COMMENTARY:  BioPower Systems is a renewable energy technology company based in Sydney Australia. We are developing systems for both wave and tidal power conversion. The company is currently working on ocean-based demonstration projects and follow-on market opportunities for its products and services.

Established in 2006, the company has successfully completed the following activities as part of its commercialization plan:

• Proof of concept and prototype tank testing;
• Engineering design and technology development;
• Planning and development of pilot projects;
• Construction and testing of power conversion equipment;
• Patent protection;
• Development of strategic technical and commercial alliances; and
• Exploration of international and local site development opportunities.

BioPower Systems is currently working towards demonstration of 250kW and 1MW bioWAVE™ projects. Ultimately, the aim of the company is to deliver utility-scale wave and tidal farms in the 50-100MW range.

The unique bioWAVE™ and bioSTREAM™ ocean energy devices are based on ‘biomimicry’, or nature-inspired design, and are designed to generate commercial quantities of clean renewable electricity with no green house gas emission and minimal impact on the environment.

bioWAVE^TM

bioWAVE^TM is being developed for utility-scale power production from ocean waves. Its nature-inspired design (biomimicry) combines high conversion efficiency with the ability to avoid excessive wave forces, enabling supply of grid-connected electricity at a competitive price per MWh.

Click Image To Enlarge

The bioWAVE^TM is designed to operate in ocean swell waves, absorbing energy both at the surface and below. It is a bottom-mounted pitching device, which spans the full depth. The bioWAVE^TM prototype currently under development will operate at a depth of 30m, while the planned 1MW commercial model will operate where the depth is 40-45m.

The energy capture and conversion process for bioWAVE^TM has been confirmed through peer reviewed scientific research, extensive device testing at model-scale, and by measured results from dry-tests on our full-scale grid-connected O-Drive^TM  test module.

An ocean-based 250kW bioWAVE^TM demonstration project is currently under development at a grid-connected site with further plans in place to develop a 1MW demonstration, followed by multi-unit wave energy farms.

How It Works:  The bioWAVE^TM is mounted on the seafloor, with a pivot near the bottom.  The array of buoyant floats, or "blades", interacts with the rising and falling sea surface (potential energy) and the sub-surface back-and-forth water movement (kinetic energy).  As a result, the pivoting structure sways back-and-forth in tune with the waves, and the energy contained in this motion is converted to electricity by an onboard self-contained power conversion module, called O-Drive^TM.  TheO-Drive^TM contains a hydraulic system that converts the mechanical energy from this motion into fluid pressure, which is used to spin a generator.  Power is then delivered to shore by a subsea cable.  The result: efficient clean energy from the ocean.

bioSTREAMTM

The bioSTREAM^TM is being developed for utility-scale power production from tidal currents. Its nature-inspired design (biomimicry) combines high conversion efficiency with the ability to continuously align with the current direction.

Click Image To Enlarge

The bioSTREAM^TM employs a patented oscillating hydrofoil system to extract energy from moving water. For sites that have a peak current speed of 2.5m/s or greater, bioSTREAM^TMoffers an environmentally safe and commercially viable source of electricity.

 

An onboard computer continually adjusts the angle of the hydrofoil (fin) relative to the oncoming flow such that the tail and fin system develops a swimming motion. The energy transferred by this side-to-side motion is converted to electricity by O-Drive^TM modules installed on the bioSTREAM^TM.

The ability to streamline and weathervane during periods of excessive flow allow for low-cost construction and competitive generation cost per MWh. A 250kW bioSTREAM^TM demonstration project is in development, with deployment planned to occur only after substantial development of the bioWAVE^TM technology is first achieved.

O-DriveTM

The O-Drive^TM is a self-contained 250kW power conversion module for use in wave and tidal energy systems. It is designed to be detachable and retrievable, enabling convenient and low-cost maintenance.

The O-Drive^TM was developed by BioPower Systems. It is based on the conversion of mechanical energy from an oscillating source to electricity using a hydraulic system coupled to a full AC-DC-AC power conversion system. Within each 250kW module, two hydraulic cylinders deliver high pressure fluid to a bank of accumulators which in turn supply a uniform flow to a hydraulic motor that is directly coupled to an electric generator. The system is self-regulating in variable wave or tidal conditions, such that power to the grid is stable and of utility-grade quality.

The 250kW rating is standard. A 1MW bioWAVE^TM would be designed to utilise four 250kW O-Drive^TM modules, each individually removable, allowing for maximum flexibility and reliability.

In a blog post dated November 15, 2011, I profiled UK-based Marine Current Turbine's tidal turbine technology, the first commercial tidal energy turbine generator, and increase in investment by Siemens, the German conglomerate.  Unlike BioPower Systems technology, Marine Current Turbine's dates back to 1994, and is well into the commercialization stage.

It's difficult to compare these two companies, but each Marine Current Turbines' dual-rotor unit generate 1.2 megawatts, and can be scaled up to 2.0 megawatts to increase cost savings. Each bioWAVE^TM ocean-based unit is rated at 250kw, so it would take about five of these units to equal one Marine Current Turbine.  I wish I had the price per unit and cost savings. 

There are dozens of wave energy startups located around the world trying to harness energy from the power of the sea.  Click HERE for Pure Energy Systems Wiki's comprehensive listing of ocean wave energy companies.

Courtesy of a press release dated December 1, 2011 by BioPower Systems 

Comments

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