That could heighten competition with Western companies down the line, especially if Chinese businesses begin using technologies developed with joint-venture partners to expand rapidly.
The European Union so far has led efforts to harness the sea to make electricity, for which there are three principal techniques: underwater turbines that draw power from the ebb and flow of tides, surface-based floats that rely on wave motion and systems that exploit differences in water temperature.
The world’s first commercial, grid-connected tidal-flow generator was installed in Northern Ireland in 2008. Germany’s Siemens AG, a big investor in wave and tidal power, predicts that tidal currents alone could someday power 250 million households world-wide. France’s Alstom SA also is developing the technology.
But with 11,000 miles of coastline rich with energy potential and pollution that is getting worse, China is seen by many experts as an ideal location to pioneer and commercialize ocean-energy technologies.
China is stepping up spending in the sector, and foreign companies including U.S.-based Lockheed Martin Corp. are testing equipment and entering joint ventures in the country.
Among the projects under study with Chinese backing: the dynamic tidal-power wall, with turbines using curved blades that are designed to allow eels and fish to pass through safely. If approved, the wall could supply as much electricity as 2½ large nuclear reactors—and cost as much as $30 billion. Investors include the Netherlands government and a consortium of eight Dutch companies, including engineering firms Arcadis NV and Strukton Groep NV.
The venture dwarfs other sea-power projects and could produce electricity more cheaply than offshore wind farms, says Dimiti de Boer, a senior adviser for environment and climate change at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
The project involves building a wall running perpendicular from the coast and then branching off into a T, extending around 20 miles and studded with turbines that would channel and concentrate the power of tidal water. Beijing provided $3.3 million for feasibility studies that are under way in China. Construction is at least a decade away, though initial findings suggest that shallow waters on the Chinese, Korean and European coasts could be suitable.
“China is at the cutting edge” in sea-energy technology development, says Mr. de Boer, who is based in Beijing.
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