[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/5866\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESensors to bring down the cost of tidal energy\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the main expenses in tidal power is maintenance\u0026nbsp;\u2013 the salt water corrodes the metal parts, and generators are hard to reach because they are often deep underwater.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s why researchers are working on long-range sensors that can monitor the integrity of tidal turbines and alert engineers before the equipment is damaged.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The industry currently takes action when necessary - usually after a critical failure occurs, which can lead to serious and costly repairs,\u2019 said Dr Nico Avdelidis, the coordinator of TidalSense Demo, an EU-funded project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETidalSense Demo is specifically making technology for an emerging method of generating tidal power known as tidal stream generation, where turbines are placed underwater in places where the tidal current moves quickly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project, which began in February 2012, uses long-range ultrasonic sensors to pick up any signs of wear and tear on the underwater turbines, and then alert engineers so they can decide whether to take action.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There is no standard condition monitoring technique available that can provide details of the tidal blade integrity,\u2019 said Dr Avdelidis, who works for InnotecUK, the British company leading the TidalSense Demo project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe condition monitoring system being developed by the project constantly checks the integrity of the exposed rotor blades, meaning that operators can save money by fixing problems quickly, and by adapting their designs if part of the rotor is particularly prone to breakage.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe system the project is developing can work for rotor blades, or for underwater hydrofoils such as the ones being developed by the EU-funded project\u0026nbsp;PULSE STREAM 1200.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022img_legend\u0022 style=\u0022float: left;\u0022\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022\u003E\n\u003Ca class=\u0022gallery\u0022 href=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/PS1200%20a%201.2MW%20tidal%20stream%20energy%20converter_0.jpg\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\u0022The PULSE STREAM 1200 project is experimenting with rod-like oscillating hydrofoils. Image courtesy of Pulse Tidal Ltd.\u0022 height=\u0022132\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/PS1200%20a%201.2MW%20tidal%20stream%20energy%20converter_0.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022The PULSE STREAM 1200 project is experimenting with rod-like oscillating hydrofoils. Image courtesy of Pulse Tidal Ltd.\u0022 width=\u0022200\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EThe PULSE STREAM 1200 project is experimenting with rod-like oscillating hydrofoils. Image courtesy of Pulse Tidal Ltd.\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003Cem\u003EThe PULSE STREAM 1200 project is experimenting with rod-like oscillating hydrofoils. Image courtesy of Pulse Tidal Ltd.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPULSE STREAM 1200, which finishes at the end of October 2013,\u0026nbsp;is experimenting with rod-like oscillating hydrofoils that move with the water to generate energy.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers believe that the hydrofoil design can capture more energy than a turbine, and operate in wide, shallower water, meaning it is more suited to estuaries which are often too shallow for high-power turbines.\u0026nbsp;They\u2019ve already successfully tested them in a small-scale trial, and they are now looking for further investment to build a full-scale protoype.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This 1.2 megawatt machine that\u2019s been designed as part of the EU project is able to be deployed in 20 to 25 metre water depth, and there are very few other 1 megawatt turbines out there that you can deploy in quite so shallow water,\u2019 said project coordinator Joe Hussey.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarrages\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe most established method of generating energy from the tides is by using barrages - long barriers built across estuaries that channel the water through sluice gates to feed generators.\u0026nbsp;The world\u2019s first tidal power station, opened in 1966, lies across the Rance\u0026nbsp;estuary in Brittany, France.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWithin Europe the UK is one of the countries that stands to benefit the most from tidal energy due to its abundant coasts, and tidal power could supply a third of the UK\u2019s energy needs, according to Tidal Energy, an industry organisation.\u0026nbsp;A planned barrage across the estuary of the River Severn in the west of the UK alone could generate 5 % of the UK\u2019s energy needs, Tidal Energy said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETides move along coastlines as well as in and out of estuaries, and another possible future method of generating power from the tides, called dynamic tidal power, would exploit this by building\u0026nbsp;a long wall straight out into the sea.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs the water swells with the tide, it would be higher on one side of the wall than the other. That fact can be exploited by engineers by placing turbines along the wall that turn as the water flows from one side of the wall to the other.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENo\u0026nbsp;dynamic tidal power installation has ever been built. However, a project involving Dutch and Chinese researchers called POWER is looking into the practicalities and hopes to have completed a feasibility study by 2015.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3\u003EThe power of the sea\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EThe contrasting salinity of freshwater and seawater creates a pressure difference which could be used to generate energy, while the thermodynamic cycle between warm shallow water and colder deep sea water could also be exploited to generate electricity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022img_legend\u0022 style=\u0022float: left;\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/Tidal%20wave%20energy.jpg\u0022 alt=\u0022A wave breaking. \u00a9 Shutterstock\/ Galyna Andrushko \u0022 title=\u0022A wave breaking. \u00a9 Shutterstock\/ Galyna Andrushko \u0022 width=\u0022200\u0022 height=\u002282\u0022 \/\u003E\u003Cem\u003EA wave breaking. \u00a9 Shutterstock\/ Galyna Andrushko\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPower from the movement of waves alone could supply 1.1 % of the projected EU-28 electricity consumption by 2030, the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/research\/energy\/eu\/index_en.cfm?pg=research-ocean-background\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EEU said\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOverall, the EU has spent over EUR 55 million supporting research into ocean energy since the 1980s.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-72hkiwymisahvrwv3n2nzqljfsaonuhqafcd-ahiw6w\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-72hkIwYMISAHvRwV3N2nZqLjfsAonuhQaFCD-ahIW6w\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]