Product category:
Power Supplies and Uninterruptible Power Supplies
News Release from: Peter Brotherhood
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 12 June 2006
Turbines turn to renewable marine power
Peter Brotherhood has signed heads of agreement with tidal energy expert Tidal Hydraulic Generators to target the tidal stream market.
Peterborough-based engineering company Peter Brotherhood has signed heads of agreement with tidal energy expert Tidal Hydraulic Generators (THGL) to target the tidal stream market THGL is a Welsh-based renewable energy technology developer which built and tested the UK's first full size tidal turbine in 2001
Peter Brotherhood is a long established engineering company with a particular focus on the design and manufacture of equipment in the renewable energy field.
The new joint venture will be known as Marine Energy Generation (MEG) and will develop two new products called HydroAir and DeltaStream.
HydroAir is an air turbine used in oscillating water column (OWC) systems - a technology that uses wave motion to compress air through an air turbine to generate electrical power.
DeltaStream is a free standing tidal generation device that produces electricity from the sea bed.
This was originally developed by THGL for the harsh conditions that exist off the Pembrokeshire coast.
HydroAir is a complete power generation system, which incorporates a turbine, a generator, power conversion and control for use in OWC technology.
Using Peter Brotherhood's extensive turbine design capabilities and the innovation skills of Cranfield University, MEG will develop the next generation of air turbine that will increase both efficiency and operational envelope.
This will provide OWC developers with a solution offering significant benefits over existing technology.
The company intends to build a full scale 400kW HydroAir system by 2008.
DeltaStream is a tidal stream device rated at 1MW nominal.
It is self-fixing to the seabed and is designed to operate reliably for 20 years with regular servicing.
The robust triangular shaped frame supports three turbine nacelles, which feature unique enhancements to capture the maximum amount of energy from the energy resource.
DeltaStream will generate electricity at 11kV enabling power to be transmitted greater distances to shore than at lower voltages and reducing the sub sea component count.
The company aims to install a full scale DeltaStream system in water during 2007-08.
"The marine renewable energy industry represents a huge opportunity for the UK", said Stephen Fitzpatrick, Managing Director for Peter Brotherhood .
"Peter Brotherhood's skills and expertise in working on renewable energy projects, coupled with the leading technology and premium quality of THGL's innovative tidal device, means that we are very well placed to effectively serve this market".
Peter Brotherhood employs over 280 people at its manufacturing facility in Peterborough.
It has built an international reputation as a specialist engineering company that designs and manufactures steam turbines, gas compressors, combined heat and power (CHP) systems and special purpose machinery and supplies them to businesses across the globe.
Richard Ayre formed THGL in 1999 to develop and commercialise his ideas of harnessing energy from tidal flow in a very environmentally friendly way.
The first trials, in the tidal river Cleddau, were part funded by a European Development Fund grant from the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park with additional support from the Technology Division of the Welsh Development Agency.
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