Generating low cost, environmentally-sensitive electrical power from tidal stream resources, DeltaStream is comprised of three 15m rotors tidal turbines connected by a triangular frame that is 36m wide per side. Twenty years from now the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) plans to have the country of Wales producing more energy than it consumes.

To achieve this – through the use of a myriad of technologies such as wind, hydro, solar, and biomass – International Business Wales (IBW) helps foster businesses, collaboration, and growth.

Throughout Wales there are government-backed innovation centers that work as incubators for start-up companies – Techniums. Research at Welsh universities is being done in collaboration with new and existing businesses. And, funding for innovative technology is being offered at all levels in order to help the country achieve this goal.
By fostering business, research, and development, Wales is working to position themselves as a major player in the renewable energy field.

On a recent trip through Wales, I was introduced to a vast array of start-ups, incubators, and established alternative energy companies – enabling a close-up look at what is happening across the ocean.

Incubation Option
Opto-electronics is a combination of optical and electronic technology, so it goes to reason that Technium OpTIC – Opto-electronics Technology and Incubation Centre – St. Asaph Business Park, Debingshire, Wales, is host to a range of young science and technology businesses implementing this medium in their innovations. Technium OpTIC brings together centers in incubation, technology, and business – all co-located at the same site – to assist young business by giving them the right level of dedicated support to succeed in the long term.

One current resident of Technium OpTIC is Dyesol. As an Australian company setting up research in Wales, Dyesol is “a third-generation, low-cost, scalable photovoltaic (PV) technology based on the dye solar cell (DSC),” explains Dr. Andrew King, director – Dyesol UK. “DSC technology can best be described as artificial photosynthesis, where we use an electrolyte, a layer of titania, and ruthenium dye sandwiched between glass. Light striking the dye excites electrons, which are absorbed by the titania to become an electric current many times stronger than that found in plant photosynthesis.”

King further explains that, when compared to conventional silicon based PV technology, Dyesol’s technology offers lower cost and embodied energy in manufacturing; it produces more electricity, more efficiently – even in low light conditions; and it can be directly incorporated into buildings, such as through the replacement of conventional glass panels.

So, as Dyesol is housed at Technium OpTIC, their research is focused heavily on research into advancing the reel to reel production of DSC which, in turn, will reduce the embodied energy cost of production.

Dyesol’s U.S. operations are also working the R&D angle through collaboration with Toledo, OH-based Pilkington North America. This collaborate is aimed at developing opportunities in the building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) market – utilizing Pilkington’s TEC series of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) coated float glass and Dyesol’s dye solar cell (DSC) materials and technology.

When compared to conventional silicon based PV technology, Dyesol’s technology produces more electricity, more efficiently – even in low light conditions.Reclaiming Solar
Approaching solar from a different angle is Pure Wafer, headquartered in Swansea, Wales, with its U.S. presence in Prescott, AZ. Pure Wafer’s main business is as a wafer reclamation service for the semiconductor industry. “What we do is recycle test wafers used in the semiconductor industry,” explains Pure Wafer’s Chief Operating Officer, Keith Baker. “We process about 100,000 test wafers per month for our customers. We recycle the wafers as many times as we can for our customers, but when they become less than 650µm, they are too thin to be handled by the robots in the semiconductor manufacturing process, so historically they have been scrapped.”

However, scrapping those wafers is now history. Research collaboration with engineers at Swansea University, with Smart Grant funding from the WAG, has resulted in the development of a process to turn scrap wafers into energy producing solar panels.

Today, development of this low-cost solar cell has the look of being able to dramatically reduce energy costs in homes since the reclaimed silicon solar cells – being a by-product of the semiconductor industry – actually offer the lowest carbon method of producing high efficiency PV cells.

“The cost of solar begins with the associated cost of the cell manufacturing,” Baker explains. “If you look at the cost of manufacturing a solar cell, you notice that the cost is actually in the wafer – the raw material, as well as the energy costs with the large amount of heat that must be applied to the silicone. So, moving away from this cost by utilizing reclaimed material as our starting point makes it much lower cost than other processes.”

Baker also explains that the energy payback of a recycled solar cell is about one year, whereas it is said to take about 3-1/2 years to pay back the electricity that was used to produce a new solar cell. However, engineers at Pure Wafer, and the researchers at Swansea, are not content stopping at this level of research, so they are continuing to look at ways to maximize each reclaimed silicone wafer into more efficient PV cells.

“Another areas we are working on with Swansea is to make sure we are getting the surface right in order to have it absorb as much light as possible – taking into consideration the interaction between the glass, the wafer, and the refraction,” Baker states.

Green silicone is how Baker uses to refer to this project, since it is reclaimed silicone getting a new life in producing clean energy.

Riding a Wave
While solar and wind is what comes to mind when alternative energy is discussed, a new spin on marine energy is being developed by Tidal Energy Ltd. Now notice, I refer to this as marine – not wave – as the technology I am referring to is called DeltaStream.

Generating low cost, environmentally-sensitive electrical power from tidal stream resources, DeltaStream uses kinetic energy from tidal flows and as a robust tidal energy converter, where each unit has the ability to produce enough energy to power 1,000 homes. The design is comprised of three 15m rotors tidal turbines connected by a triangular frame that is 36m wide per side. A lifting bridle, attached to the system in the center, is used by a barge to lift and place DeltaStream into the water onto the seabed.

As a nominal 1.2MW unit sitting on a seabed, the low center of gravity the system has means it can be placed without the need for a positive anchoring system – enabling quicker installation and removal for repairs.

Compared to other energy technologies, “tidal resources are the only predictable source of renewable energy,” explains Chris Williams, development director at Tidal Energy. “Tidal streams are created by the constantly changing gravitation pull of the moon and sun on the world’s oceans. This drawing of water creates currents that are guaranteed while, most importantly, tidal energy is also environmentally acceptable since tidal power is freely available and only a device is required to capture it; no greenhouse gases or other waste is produced during operation; and it requires no fuel consumption.”

Overall design of DeltaStream is that it features a lightweight gravity foundation, is easy to manufacture, easy to deploy and recover, easy to maintain, low cost, operated in varied water depth and velocity, and has a low environmental impact.

Numerous wildlife studies have been completed and applications to various governmental agencies in Wales have been submitted. Now, Tidal Energy waits for approval to install and operate the first DeltaStream in Ramsey Sound.

Others Making Waves
Showing competition with DeltaStream is Swanturbine, which has a patented technology that they feel will lower the cost of tidal stream energy. Also functioning as an underwater wind turbine, the device is submerged so it cannot be seen, and has only has one moving part – delivering exceptional reliability.

As with any energy source, the cost of producing the electricity is of primary importance. The Swanturbines design incorporates various features which are designed to allow minimum cost and optimum performance. One of these features is the gearless drive train and the optimized relationship between the blades and generator. Simplicity and reliability ultimately led to a design that is both cost effective and robust for the harsh marine environment. As a result, a simple, robust, and serviceable yawing mechanism is used for maximum flow capture, which can increase power capture by up to 45%.

Beyond the Delta and the Swan is the Dragon, which though we did not visit on this particular media tour, is referred to as the Wave Dragon.

Wave Dragon is a floating, slack-moored, overtopping-type energy converter. The basic idea of the Wave Dragon wave energy converter is to use principles from traditional hydro power plants in an offshore floating platform. The Wave Dragon overtopping device elevates ocean waves to a reservoir above sea level, where water is let out through a number of turbines and, in this way, transformed into electricity – a three-step energy conversion:

• Overtopping (absorption)
• Storage (reservoir)
• Power-take-off (low-head hydro turbines)

Additionally, while wave energy converters often make use of either mechanical motion or fluid pressure, with there being numerous techniques for achieving this, Wave Dragon does not have any conversion but uses the energy in the water directly.

Another Approach
Western Wood Energy delivers approximately 110,000,000kWh, enough electricity to meet the needs of about 31,000.

“The full-operational plant is the first commercial scale biomass renewable energy power station in Wales,” states David Fisher, construction manager, Eco2 Ltd.. “The wood combustion plant burns about 160,000 tonnes per year of clean wood, a large portion which is supplied by the Forestry Commission from managed woodland in South Wales. By burning this sustainable fuel, some 47,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels are avoided each year.”

The plant is owned by Western Bioenergy Ltd. while Good Energies (UK) LLP is the principal shareholder and a local company, Western Log Group, owns the minority interest. Eco2 Ltd. – one of the United Kingdom’s leading independent renewable energy developers – joined the project in 2004 as a joint venture partner, delivering the necessary expertise to put together a suite of construction and finance contracts.

• While the power station operates continuously, the main components are:
• A fuel handling system designed to receive, store, chip, blend, and feed the combustion plant;
• A team boiler and integrated firing systems with an advanced grate for complete burnout of the wood and a combustion system that minimizes the production of controlled emissions such as NOx;
• A bag filter for the removal of dust and particles from the combustion gases before their release into the atmosphere;
• A boiler that uses the energy released from combustion to convert water to super heated steam;
• A steam turbine that uses the energy in the superheated steam to spin a rotor that in turn generates electricity; and
• An air-cooled condenser that converts the steam which leaves the steam turbine back into water so that it can be returned to the boiler.

And the Future Shows…
The Welsh Assembly Government has set large goals for their country, but this is not a new venture. Alternative energy manufacturing has been growing in Wales for the past few years.

Sharp Manufacturing has been manufacturing in North Wales since 1984 and began producing solar modules at the Wrexham plant in 2004.

Npower Renewables established the United Kingdom’s first commercial offshore wind farm in 2003 in North Wales and it now operates an additional six onshore farms throughout Wales. Currently in production is a 100MW offshore wind farm that will deliver enough electricity to power 61,000 homes when complete.

The government, companies, and the citizens of Wales appear heavily focused on protecting the environment by investing, growing, and expanding cleaner energy. Since renewable energy is a rapidly growing industry, the government continues to grow its work with the energy industry to maximize its value to the Welsh economy, doing this through its growing commitment to business and academia.