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Update 2008
Yanbaru,
Okinawa
World's First Sea Water Pumped Storage Station is on-line!
Hydroelectric
Power Generation.
On-Line Operation of Adjustable-Speed System for
Okinawa Yanbaru Seawater Pumped Storage Power Plant.
The
Okinawa Yanbaru Seawater Pumped Storage Power Plant has been completed
in the northern part of the main island of Okinawa Prefecture by the
Agency of Natural Resources and Energy of the Ministry of International
Trade and Industry (MITI). This facility, the first seawater
hydroelectric power plant in the world, has been in operation since
March 1999. Toshiba supplied the adjustable-speed system to the project
as the fifth set of its kind, making our company the world's most
experienced manufacturer. The applications of this adjustable-speed
system will expand in the future, to encompass not only pumped storage
power plants but also small and medium-size hydroelectric power plants
and power system facilities. (author abst.)
http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/200005/000020000500A0095881.php
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MP-SPS
Multi Purpose
Seawater Power
Station
A Multi-Purpose
Seawater Power
Station incorporates a new type of pumped-storage. Ideally it requires
a
renewable energy source to fill it up - but like traditional
pumped-storage we can
continue to use fossil. The upper pond stores this
energy as potential - and when requested can produce on-demand
hydro-electricity. This process approaches 80% efficiency. In
liew of the energy loss, the role of pumped-storage fulfills a
job - and
supplies electricity on-demand - jumping in to assist the load - which
helps balance the
grid - which equates to you having hot showers when you want.
Seawater-pumped-storage
is renewable - pumped-storage is not - and when combined with
desalination seawater-pumped-storage can make fresh water. As a new
multi-purpose device the income is supported by more than one income
stream - continues to support the grid - and also supports large scale
storage for renewables.
This
interesting potential of MP-SPS also provides a methodology of change
-
a bridge to sustainability -
by allowing a change-over-time adapting
from fossil
to
renewable since the input is variable.
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This conceptual diagram represents
the ecologically
sustainable and renewable seawater-cycle-process
- at the heart is
Japans' Okinawa Yanbaru project -
A feasibility study is
required to unravel the interconnectedness and establish best
procedures.
*
It's important to note MP-SPS can run on
any energy source which includes fossil,
but the infrastructure is such
that it allows a planned change-over-period.
In short we can build it now using
todays technology and fuels
and slowely change over to renewables when ready.
At some point it becomes all green.
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Pictured is
Okinawa Yanbaru
eco power plant project in Japan, World's First high
head seawater pumped storage.
Model eco hydro power plant of
the 21st
Century.
http://www.jcold.or.jp/Eng/Seawater/Seawater.htm
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MP-SPS
Multi Purpose Seawater Power
Station
A large scale man-made
seawater pumped storage (as above) is not a dam in the conventional
sense because it
does not withhold any natural water flow from the land - also it is
much smaller - it can be a pond. A pond can contain fish and also be a
tourist attraction since the environment pictured here is beautifully
preserved.
*As a pumped storage device it produces
on-demand hydro electricity.
*As a seawater hydro and/or hydraulic reverse
osmosis desalination
plant processes the renewable working fluid into potable water.
*As a multi-purpose device it
can provide energy storage - large scale - for renewables like wind.
The cost structure is dependant upon
many factors like the on-demand market price for electricity and what
it's worth as storage for intermittent renewables at this time... but
Bill Gates thought 640k
was a lot, at
the time.
Unlike most businesses the bottomline for
pumped storage is a service. It's a necessary part of life if we want
our showers with hot water "now". And what are we
willing to pay
for this service? Well, we are paying for it now so that's a given.
What we are not paying for is the cost of cleaning up the pollution
that has given us hot showers.
Using seawater as the working fluid is
renewable as opposed to continuing to use the limited supply of fresh
water which would appear to be a step in the
right direction. But it cannnot compete with some of the newer
sea going inventions like Energetech which uses wave power at zero
cost. But wave machines do not store energy, pumped storage does. And
so it
is quite complimentary.
No doubt there's a cheaper way
of saving the world from Climate Change but as yet, I don't see a
plan. We need water and renewable technologies still require backup
and storage. Could this be the glue or the hub - a piece of the pie?
An
MP-SPS is a
multi-purpose device that
allows - to alter its' "investment and produce" - swapping
from electricity to water to renewable storage. Naturally, as a multi
purpose device it bares a premium cost
compared to the prior hydro stations that have been costed to do one
thing - ie. one machine doing one
job. In the past separate machines made electricity
OR water - not electricity AND water. In the future we can
save energy and costs by having machines that do both - and without CO2
pollution.
*no cost for
the working fluid - seawater -
only maintenance and running costs.
*salt waste can be managed
*possible carbon credit offset.
*any renewables like wind or solar are ideal.
TOTALLY
OUTRAGEOUS
Bottomline, it will require some effort
rather than a nuclear quick fix
- probably on the scale of Snowy Hydro by placing MP-SPS's
strategically in place. Australia is ideally situated as an island
surrounded by water with communities living on the coast - each
community could have one storing local renewable energy and making
power and water.
An MP-SPS
requires a feasibility study to
determine practicality and costs on a site by site basis.
It can be
thought of as scaleable, small community to large scale.
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A
Road Map to
Ecological Sustainable Renewable Water and Energy
In
this
age, scientists and
inventors are
scrambling to solve the riddle of the sustainability. This is one
method that may prove to be worthwhile - time and a feasability study
and people will tell.
In the meanwhile I present this road map to ecological sustainable
renewable
water and energy in the form of multi purpose seawater hydro technology
that is
capable of
producing sustainable on-demand hydro electricity, on-demand
fresh drinking water, backup storage for renewables and in the
fore-see-able
future, on-demand green hydrogen.
And one other
important
difference that makes
seawater hydro different from all the rest
LARGE SCALE STORAGE.
* On the
left we
have the input. Any
energy source that can make electricity can be used to pump seawater up
into the pond. As a pumped storage device it depends upon being filled
up by external means.
* Please consider that no matter what sort of energy is used to
fill up, the MP-SPS always produces green energy (taking into
account the change-over period from fossil to renewable). Technically
it is not green unless it is filled by renewable means.
There is a loss of energy in the exchange (some 15-20%) but a gain
of control of
time
thus enabling MP-SPS to produce on-demand electricity whenever it is
called for, which has a gain
in value.
* On the right the seawater falls to produce on-demand electricity and
utilizes the pressure to perform scientific acrobatics like
turning turbines, desalination (either by
pressure-reverse-osmosis and/or steam-distillation)
and
the latest
"electrolysis" to split the water into
it's 2 parts, hydrogen and oxygen. Since hydrogen is the oil of the
future, we're not looking too shabby.
Ostensibly the beauty lies in the
multi arrangement that accomodates multi products and services under
the umbrella of a
seawater power station. For example,
focussing
seawater under great pressure is an extraodinary and specialized
powerful
cutting tool. A multi environment could provide a park and a number of
people services that only a sustainable renewable facility like this
can
provide.
It is interesting to note that this sort of facility has never existed,
since seawater has never been stored above sea level, hence new
products and services are yet to reveal themselves.
Road Map
I wish to bring to your attention a Òroad map to ecological sustainable
renewable water and energyÓ with an introduction of a new "seawater
hydro technology" which sits at the heart of a "multi purpose station"
and producer of hydro-electricity, fresh drinking water and in the
fore-see-able future, green hydrogen.
The
grid uses
hydro-electricity produced from dams and pump stations. Pumped storage
PS(1) stores excess energy for later use, and has provided on-demand
electricity for over 100 years. The 25-year
Yanbaru eco project in Okinawa is the worldÕs first high head renewable
Seawater Pumped Storage Power Plant SPS(2), with several more planned -
currently powered by thermal and gas turbine. In Australia we can use
grid or clean coal(3) or any green energy. Using seawater instead of
fresh
water in pumped storage completely reconfigures the process. The
resultant is renewable seawater hydropower that when melded with
desalination eliminates the wait for rain and removes the limitation of
a limited fresh water supply.
Because
itÕs
renewable and seawater,
not only can SPS supply the same on-demand hydro-electricity service as
PS, but also maintains the same gas or coal-fired cost infrastructure.
A multi purpose SPS has available Òseawater and electricityÓ to
desalinate. Using a seawater power stationsÕ own energy to
desalinate itsÕ own seawater can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A
multi
purpose Geothermal SPS adds heat
that is required to manufacture green ÒAÓ grade hydrogen using
electrolysis(4).
The ratio
of
electricity and water
produced co-existing in the same multi facility is interwoven with 2 or
more
income streams. This is a major advantage over conventional
desalination systems because Òwhen the drought is overÓ MP-SPS can stop
making water and produce electricity. Ideally by that stage,
appropriate green energy sources have matured.
MP-SPS is
in
itself a green producer.
As the grid operatorÕs coordinate coal and renewable sources in the
electricity pool(5), over time it is viable MP-SPS becomes 100%
sustainable renewable. Conversely most green energy sources, solar wind
and waves are conditional upon the weather. To achieve uninterrupted
power they require back up and/or storage. MP-SPS is that
Large Scale sustainable backup & storage solution for any energy
source.
With water and hydrogen distribution taken into strategic account and
right placement to available solar or tide or wind or hot rocks etc.
MP-SPS becomes an attractor elevated to the centrepiece of
sustainability. Leveraging on-site eco energy from the onset will be
determined by feasibility studies.
A multi purpose seawater power station solves immediate water shortages
in Australia(6), long-range electricity production; future green
hydrogen; supports greenhouse gas emissions quotas and protocols; and
addresses Climate Change.
Placed strategically around the coast of Australia, MP-SPS creates a
sustainable
renewable heart pumping green on-demand electricity on-demand fresh
water and on-demand hydrogen, and paves the road map to a clean green
future.
Fossil power stations and oil driven cars account for the majority of
all greenhouse gas emission worldwide(7). The United States 2006 Energy
Budget is $23.4 billion(8). The US Hydrogen incentive is $1.2
billion(9). Development of this technology in Australian is purposeful
for Australia and exportable. We can lead.
This most urgent road map, which addresses the imminent water shortage
also delivers a long range planned changeover to green electricity, a
green hydrogen future potential and the well being of Sydney and
Australia.
REFERENCES
(1). PS -
Pumped-storage. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-storage_hydroelectricity
(2). SPS -
Okinawa Yanbaru Japan seawater
pumped-storage power plant. http://www.jcold.or.jp/Eng/Seawater/Seawater.htm
(3). US DOE
-
Healy Clean Coal
Project. http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/press/1998/tl_healystart.html
(4).
Hydrogen
Facts. www.hydrogenus.com/h2-FAQ.asp
(5). The
grid
pool. http://www.greenpower.com.au/GPFaq.shtml
(6).
Farmhand -
AustraliaÕs Water Ð The
Facts. http://www.farmhand.org.au/downloads/119-151_Australias_Water_Part_11.pdf
(7). US
Energy
Information - Emissions of
Greenhouse Gases http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/emission.html
(8). United
States - DOE Energy
Budget. http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006/energy.html.
(9). United
States - 1.2 billion Hydrogen
Initiative. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030130-20.html
(10).
Greenpeace
Australia on hydro http://www.greenpeace.org.au/climate/solutions/renewables/hydro.html
(11).
Desalination info. http://www.bracewellgiuliani.com/files/tbl_s16Publications\FileUpload77\927\DESALINATION_PAPER.pdf
(12).
United
Nations Freshwater 2003. http://www.un.org/events/water/brochure.htm |
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THE ECOLOGY REVOLUTION 
