First Published 2002 © Crown Copyright 2002 Executive Summary
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ISLAY LIMPET PROJECT MONITORING FINAL REPORT ETSU V/06/00180/00/Rep DTI Pup URN No 02/1435 Contractor Wavegen Prepared by Dr. T. Heath The work described in this report was carried out under contract as part of the DTI Sustainable Energy Programmes. The views and judgements expressed in this report are those of the contractor and do not necessarily reflect those of the DTI. First published 2002 © Crown Copyright 2002 Executive Summary This is the final report of a two-year project supported by the DTI Sustainable Energy Programmes to monitor the later stages of the construction, turbo-generation equipment installation, commissioning and operation of the LIMPET wave energy device. The report summarises the observations made about the plant and describes: • The choice of technology • The choice of location • Power take off operation • Construction of the collector • Installation of turbo-generation equipment • Maintenance issues. • Performance and performance limitations • Operation of the plant. Management and planning issues are discussed. The main conclusions are as follows: • Both the collector structure and the turbo-generation equipment have proved structurally sound having survived extreme storm conditions with minimal damage. The damage which did occur is avoidable through design modification. This gives confidence that in the longer term this type of wave energy system will operate reliably in the marine environment. • The plant has operated for nearly two years connected to the local grid with minimal maintenance. Save when shut down for research activities or through grid faults remote to LIMPET availability has been very high confirming the long term viability of wave energy as a contributor to national power supplies. Overall, the performance of the device has been lower than expected. The reasons for this have been identified, and are mainly associated with issues particular to this project rather than fundamental deficiencies in the shoreline OWC concept. Most notably: • Seabed bathymetry has been found to have a significant impact on power capture performance. In this project, the seabed profile was found to be different from that indicated by surveys available at the commencement of the project with the effect that significantly less power was incident at the collector entry in comparison to that expected from the initial model tests. • To permit the completion of the device within the year 2000 the plant was built with a straight sided gully rather than the tapered entry section originally required. The effect of this was to further reduce the wave power incident on the collector. • The fitment of acoustic attenuation to the turbine exit unbalanced the airflow through the turbine on the inlet stroke with a consequent loss of turbine efficiency on this half cycle. • The loss of shaft power through reduced input power and turbine efficiency resulted in the generators operating at a low load factor so that the various parasitic losses became a significant proportion of the generated power. Whilst these problems have limited the performance of the LIMPET, they give confidence in the design of future shoreline OWC’s. It is most encouraging that when conditions at site are - i - reproduced either in wave tank testing or in numerical simulations the site data closely matches the test information. This confirms that a correctly structured test programme can be used with confidence to predict the performance of the next generation of shoreline devices. The experience of building and operating LIMPET has been invaluable not only in respect of furthering the development of more shoreline generation but also in respect of developments offshore. In particular experience with the LIMPET instrumentation and control systems together with grid integration issues is directly applicable to the current round of offshore developments. LIMPET continues in grid connected operation both as a power generator and as an equipment test bed. - ii - Contents 1 PROJECT BACKGROUND...................................................................................................... 3 1.1 OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................................................3 1.2 OVERVIEW OF LIMPET...........................................................................................................3 1.3 HISTORICAL REVIEW ...............................................................................................................3 2 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS .................................................................................................. 4 2.1 CHOICE OF LOCATION..............................................................................................................4 2.2 FORM OF DEVICE AND SELECTION OF EQUIPMENT ..................................................................5 2.2.1 Oscillating Water Column Collector ...............................................................................5 2.2.2 Form of the Collector and Manufacturing Method .........................................................5 2.2.2.1 Remote Manufacture .................................................................................................6 2.2.2.2 Protective Excavation................................................................................................6 2.2.2.3 Collector Shape .........................................................................................................7 2.2.2.4 Size of Collector........................................................................................................8 2.2.2.5 Collector Cross Section.............................................................................................8 2.2.2.6 Axial Section ...........................................................................................................10 2.3 TURBO-GENERATION EQUIPMENT .........................................................................................11 2.3.1 Overview and General Description ...............................................................................11 2.3.2 Turbine Mounting ..........................................................................................................16 2.3.3 Form of Controls............................................................................................................16 2.3.3.1 DOL Connection .....................................................................................................17 2.3.3.2 Variable Rotor Resistance.......................................................................................17 2.3.3.3 Dump Load..............................................................................................................17 2.3.3.4 Inverter Drives.........................................................................................................17 2.3.3.5 The LIMPET System...............................................................................................18 2.3.4 Generator Type & Source..............................................................................................18 2.3.5 Control Type and Source ...............................................................................................19 2.3.5.1 Grid Protection ........................................................................................................19 2.3.5.2 Safety.......................................................................................................................19 2.3.5.3 Functional Operation...............................................................................................20 2.3.5.4 Functional Control Algorithm.................................................................................21 3 STATUS OF LIMPET AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE PROJECT..................... 22 3.1 SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................22 3.2 CIVIL ENGINEERING...............................................................................................................22 4 TURBO GENERATION EQUIPMENT CONSTRUCTION ............................................... 26 5 OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCE............................................................................................ 26 5.1 PLANNED MAINTENANCE ......................................................................................................26 5.2 UNPLANNED MAINTENANCE..................................................................................................27 5.2.1 Re-excavation of the gully..............................................................................................27 5.2.2 Vibration Loosening of Bolts and Crews .......................................................................28 5.2.3 Positive Positioning of Vane Valve................................................................................29 5.2.4 Storm Damage................................................................................................................29 5.2.5 Butterfly Valve Bearings ................................................................................................29 5.3 REMOTE OPERATION .............................................................................................................29 - 1 - 5.4 GRID CONNECTION ISSUES. ...................................................................................................30 6 OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE......................................................................................