Dear Sieuw: Yes, after I received your message, I noticed I could no longer access the article through the link I provided to the group. However, I did manage to locate the article on another site. Just to be safe, I copied the entire article and have pasted it to this message. If for some reason the article does not come through again, let me know and I will try again.
Sincerely, Scott Here is the article: Spin-Out Challenge: Wind Firm Vies to Develop World's Most Efficient Tidal Generators ONE of Scotland's top wind energy companies is developing a new range of generators powered by rivers and the tide. Renewable Devices, which was set up three years ago by David Anderson and Charlie Silverton, developed the UK's first wind-power generator that could be fitted on the roof of an ordinary house. The pair, aided by engineer Barry Trapp, have set up RD Marine, with a brief to produce the world's most efficient tidal electricity generator. RD's generators use a blade design, which Anderson said could squeeze up to 10 per cent more energy out of flowing water than competing systems. He said: "We have gained a lot of expertise in extracting energy from moving fluids, from air to water, oil and even sewage." The generators are designed to need little or no maintenance and are made from low-cost materials. They will be floated in places such as the Pentland Firth, between Caithness and Orkney, where tidal flows are at their strongest. Each machine will generate 500 kilowatts, enough to power 50,000 homes. Anderson said between 200,000 and 300,000 tidal power generators could be required worldwide over the next few years. In an unusual twist, miniature prototypes of the machines will be sold as river power generators, rather like traditional river mills. These devices - at around one 10th of the full size - should produce enough power for two or three homes and will be sold to householders who live near flowing water. RD Marine is supported by the high-growth team at Scottish Enterprise as part of the agency's Spin-Out Challenge, launched this year in association with Scotland on Sunday and some of the country's leading business advisers. The Midlothian company has drawn up what Anderson describes as an "aggressive" development timetable: the prototypes should be available within a year, with the full-scale units in three years. RD's wind energy unit, Renewable Devices Swift Turbines, attracted investment from utility group Scottish & Southern Energy, which has developed a strong position in renewable energy. In addition, SSE has placed orders worth GBP 9m with the company. Anderson said: "We have a track record of making renewable energy technology accessible. Nobody put wind turbines on roofs before." The first company to be admitted to the Spin-Out Challenge was Scott-Track, which is developing a system to help trains avoid railway maintenance works. Three further companies will feature in Scotland on Sunday in the coming weeks, and there will be updates on their progress. Source: Scotland on Sunday -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Sieuwnath Naipal Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 4:37 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [microhydro] Small scale run-of-river turbines Dear Dr. Scott, The article, you have mentioned, seems to be removed. Can you mail the article once again? Best regards, Sieuw "Young, Scott" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Hello group. Attached is a link to an article about a Scottish company that is planning to build tidal and run-of-river turbines, some apparently on a micro-hydro scale. The company is currently involved in producing a small, residential scale, roof-mounted wind turbines with a rated capacity of about 1.5 kW. The wind turbine is supposed to be commercially available on the mass market this fall. I have seen some skepticism expressed about the output claim for the wind turbine (based on its roof-mounted deployment) but it is an interesting concept. It is supposed to produce AC power so that it can be plugged into the average house without the need of an inverter. Assuming the company is successful with its wind turbine, this might bode well for its success with micro-hydro turbines. According to the article, prototypes of the tidal and river generators might be ready in one year, with commercial production in about three years. At any rate, this might be a development worth following. With its apparent focus on small scale units for use on individual homes, if the company can design and mass produce micro hydro units, the cost might be low enough to be within reach of at least some people or communities with limited financial resources. As an aside, I think the article has a misprint: it should probably have said the larger turbines (in combination or barrages, I would assume) will produce 500 megawatts, not 500 kilowatts; I don't know how you could service 50,000 homes with 500 kW. Here is the link: http://www.energycentral.com/centers/news/daily/printer_friendly.cfm?aid =5930606 In case anyone is interesting in learning something about the company and its current activities, here is a link to its wind turbine site: http://www.hie.co.uk/swift-rooftop-wind-energy-system.pdf [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Does your company feature in the microhydro business directory at http://microhydropower.net/directory ? If not, please register free of charge and be exposed to the microhydro community world wide! NOTE: The advertisements in this email are added by Yahoogroups who provides us with free email group services. The microhydro-group does not endorse products or support the advertisements in any way. 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