January 19, 2009
U.K. funds four renewable energy projects that promise a greener existence
U.K. government set up an energy research and development institute, dubbed Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) to bring about the green revolution. In an attempt to help the country to meet its future energy and climate targets, the institute boasts of a £1.1bn kitty that will be used to fund green engineering solutions. The first four projects to receive from this grant has just been announced. These projects will demonstrate new technologies which can deliver significant cost savings compared to current renewable energy sources. Of the four concepts, Project Nova aims to assess the feasibility of a unique wind turbine with a pair of giant vertical wings. Such a design scores over the traditional horizontal axis turbines with enhanced ruggedness, stability and easy maintenance. Since the government is committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050 and likely to adopt an interim target of a 34% reduction by 2020, such colossal upright wings may be future power providers of U.K.
The other three projects that were also a part of £20m grant are the Helm Wind, Deepwater Turbine and a project led by ETI member Rolls Royce. Helm Wind will study the feasibility of a 5MW floating offshore wind turbine for deep water use; Deepwater Turbine will study some of the reliability issues affecting current wind turbine designs; and the fourth project will install and test a 1MW tidal turbine in Orkney.
Via – Greenlaunches