It will generate energy from the rise and fall of water caused by waves and tides
Power can be generated from waves along the North Chennai coastline if IIT, Madras, gets a nod for setting up an integrated coastal protection and wave energy system on a pilot basis. (Photo: DC/File)
Chennai: Power can be generated from waves along the North Chennai coastline if IIT, Madras, gets a nod for setting up an integrated coastal protection and wave energy system on a pilot basis.
According to Dr S. A. Sannasiraj, department of ocean engineering, IIT (M), the system will serve a dual purpose of preventing coastal erosion and generate energy from waves. In North Chennai, he said there is a proposal to construct a groynes field along with sea wall in the two km stretch between Tiruvottiyur and Ennore to prevent erosion. “Instead of seawall and groynes, we should deploy oscillating water column device parallel to the coast line as it will act as sea wall and power generator,” he said.
The OWC device comprises a partly submerged concrete structure with an opening below the water surface, inside which air is trapped above the water free surface. It generates energy from the rise and fall of water caused by waves and tides in the ocean through a turbine that drives an electrical generator. However, the energy generated by OWC device will be costing Rs 100 per unit as construction of the device costs about Rs 4 crore, Prof Sannasiraj said while addressing the UK-India workshop on wave and tidal energy.
Given that large stretches of the country’s coastline are vulnerable to erosion, he said, “We can generate nearly 20 MW of wave energy through OWC device along the four km stretch of North Chennai coast,” he said, adding that the device has a plant load factor of about 50 per cent according to the test done in the lab by them along with Norwegian University.
( Source : dc )
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