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Energy from the ocean
APPLICATIONS
Spaceship flight
Energy from the ocean
VIRGIN GALACTIC has announced the successful completion of the first piloted free flight of its spaceship VSS Enterprise. The spaceship was released from its mothership at an altitude of 45 000 ft (13 700 m). The two main goals of the flight were to carry out a clean release of the spaceship from its mothership, and for the pilots to free fly and glide back and land at Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Both the spaceship and the mothership are constructed from carbon composite materials using technology developed by Scaled Composites of Mojave. Virgin Galactic wants to become the world’s first commercial space line. It currently has 370 customer
ORPC’s Turbine Generator Unit features composite turbines and structural frame. VSS Enterprise in glide flight.
deposits totalling US$50 million. Future commercial operations will be based at Spaceport America in New Mexico. According to George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic, the company’s next objectives are to complete its experimental programme, obtain its FAA licence and safely bring the system into service at Spaceport America. Virgin Galactic; www.virgingalactic.com
OCEAN RENEWABLE Power Company (ORPC), a developer of river and ocean energy technology, has announced that its Beta Power System, described as the largest ocean energy device ever installed in US waters, has generated grid-compatible power from tidal currents at its Cobscook Bay site in Eastport, Maine, USA. The system’s core component, the Turbine Generator Unit (TGU) is deployed below ORPC’s research and testing vessel, the Energy Tide
2, and has a maximum design capacity of 60 kW. Test results show that the TGU’s electrical output meets or exceeds expectations for the full range of current velocities encountered. The TGU incorporates proprietary cross-flow turbines manufactured from composite materials by US WindBlade of Bath, Maine, a permanent magnet generator, a substantially composite support frame, and a power electronics system that converts the generator’s variable output to grid-compatible power. The ORPC TGU works on the same principle as a wind turbine, with rotating foils that power the generator. But because water is over 800 times denser than air, the TGUs provide significantly more power than wind turbines at relatively low water current speeds. Built primarily with composite materials, they resist corrosion in fresh and salt water alike. As gearless units, they require no lubricants, and emit nothing into the surrounding water. ORPC will use the data obtained from the Beta Power System to fine tune the design of its commercial TidGen™ Power System, planned for installation in Eastport in late 2011. The TidGen Power System will be connected to the New England grid through the Bangor Hydro Electric Company system, and will generate enough electricity to power 50-75 homes. ORPC; www.oceanrenewablepower.com
REINFORCEDplastics
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010
www.reinforcedplastics.com
Spaceship flight
Energy from the ocean
VIRGIN GALACTIC has announced the successful completion of the first piloted free flight of its spaceship VSS Enterprise. The spaceship was released from its mothership at an altitude of 45 000 ft (13 700 m). The two main goals of the flight were to carry out a clean release of the spaceship from its mothership, and for the pilots to free fly and glide back and land at Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Both the spaceship and the mothership are constructed from carbon composite materials using technology developed by Scaled Composites of Mojave. Virgin Galactic wants to become the world’s first commercial space line. It currently has 370 customer
ORPC’s Turbine Generator Unit features composite turbines and structural frame. VSS Enterprise in glide flight.
deposits totalling US$50 million. Future commercial operations will be based at Spaceport America in New Mexico. According to George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic, the company’s next objectives are to complete its experimental programme, obtain its FAA licence and safely bring the system into service at Spaceport America. Virgin Galactic; www.virgingalactic.com
OCEAN RENEWABLE Power Company (ORPC), a developer of river and ocean energy technology, has announced that its Beta Power System, described as the largest ocean energy device ever installed in US waters, has generated grid-compatible power from tidal currents at its Cobscook Bay site in Eastport, Maine, USA. The system’s core component, the Turbine Generator Unit (TGU) is deployed below ORPC’s research and testing vessel, the Energy Tide
2, and has a maximum design capacity of 60 kW. Test results show that the TGU’s electrical output meets or exceeds expectations for the full range of current velocities encountered. The TGU incorporates proprietary cross-flow turbines manufactured from composite materials by US WindBlade of Bath, Maine, a permanent magnet generator, a substantially composite support frame, and a power electronics system that converts the generator’s variable output to grid-compatible power. The ORPC TGU works on the same principle as a wind turbine, with rotating foils that power the generator. But because water is over 800 times denser than air, the TGUs provide significantly more power than wind turbines at relatively low water current speeds. Built primarily with composite materials, they resist corrosion in fresh and salt water alike. As gearless units, they require no lubricants, and emit nothing into the surrounding water. ORPC will use the data obtained from the Beta Power System to fine tune the design of its commercial TidGen™ Power System, planned for installation in Eastport in late 2011. The TidGen Power System will be connected to the New England grid through the Bangor Hydro Electric Company system, and will generate enough electricity to power 50-75 homes. ORPC; www.oceanrenewablepower.com
REINFORCEDplastics
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010
www.reinforcedplastics.com