The Neptune Proteus NP1000 tidal generator completes full scale tests

Neptune web site: http://www.neptunerenewableenergy.com/tidal_technology.php

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...Neptune Renewable Energy Ltd (NREL) announces that it has successfully completed a series of rigorous in-water tests on the multi-million pound full-scale demonstrator of its world-leading Proteus NP1000 tidal stream power generator. A key landmark in the testing process, prior to the device's operational deployment in the Humber Estuary at Hull, England, was the powering-up and generation of electricity as proof of the commercial potential of the device's power curve.

Tow testing was carried out in three phases during August, September and October in Hull's Albert Dock, following the NREL-designed Proteus' arrival by barge in July from a North East shipyard. The third set of experiments provided the final, critical, 'proof of concept' hurdle and means that the pioneering device will now be prepared for commercial operation in early 2011 at Sammy’s Point in the Humber. The electricity generated will be used to power The Deep Submarium to further develop its 'green-energy' operations.

Weighing more than 150 tonnes and 20 m in length with a beam of 14 m, the Proteus NP1000 consists of steel buoyancy hulls, a vertically mounted turbine with a 6m x 6m rotor, and computer controlled flow vanes within a Venturi duct. When deployed, despite its size, the floating pontoon design means that it is largely unobtrusive, compared to many other energy generation techniques, with more than 80 per cent of its bulk always hidden from view under the water. This low environmental footprint has now been approved by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. When optimised for the tidal stream off The Deep, Neptune's engineers believe, based on the dock test data, that the Proteus NP1000 will be able generate at least 1000 MWh/year. To put this into context the projected output would be enough to meet the energy needs of more than five hundred homes...."

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