Independent Power for Offshore Aquaculture
September 3rd, 2008 by AndrewIncreasingly, the ability to create large sustainable aquaculture production capability seems to be headed in the direction of automated systems.
Some proposals are going as far as autonomous aquaculture operations.
If this is the case then increasingly automated aquaculture operations will require more electrical power.
What are the sources of power that we could consider for autonomous offshore aquaculture operations?
One way to think about power sources in the open ocean may be to consider the ability to derive power from ocean currents. Perhaps the work conducted by SeaGen may be a signpost to the future?
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September 3rd, 2008 at 1:55 pm
SeaGen does look like a possible viable option for aquaculture operations.
Friend’s of mine are involved in a similar project in Ireland.
Their company is a world-leader in electricity generation from wave energy. Effective electricity producing sea-trials have been operation since October last year. Their website can be viewed at;
http://www.wavebob.com/about_us/
This could also be a solution where tidal flow in offshore locations may not be a feature.
September 3rd, 2008 at 2:52 pm
There are many people involved in this area of generating power from waves at the moment and it is a hot topic around the world. A local company in WA has been developing similar technology for the last 8 years and thy are currently looking at commercial size prototypes at the moment:
http://www.carnegiecorp.com.au/
An excellent source of information on renewable energy can be found on the following website:
http://www.reegle.info
Another advantage of looking into this area is ability to potentially solve two problems with one holistic solution . Can you construct a structure that not only farms fish but generates power?
September 4th, 2008 at 2:05 am
Andrew,
I was not aware of a ramp up of automated aquaculture operations. I had thought the ‘next step’ is the move to deep open ocean aquaculture systems, which are really not very energy intensive. Naturally, any economically feasible way to create clean and sustainable energy sourcing is desirable, but is there or is there expected a significant use of power in aquaculture based farming? What is the metric used to benchmark electrical energy use? How invasive is power usage in aquaculture, in the USA and elsewhere? If you know, please share. michaelalbert@pobox.com. Thanks!
September 4th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I was captured by the thought suggested by Awales of Aquaculture farms which also produced electricity.
There have been successful attempts in China to use Chicken manure on a large chicken farm north of the China’s capital city of Beijing to create biogas. This is then used to generate the farm’s power and heat.
http://www.thebioenergysite.com/news/1295/china-fires-up-first-chicken-manurebiogas-plant
The company behind these bio-gas generators is GE Energy.
http://www.gepower.com/prod_serv/products/recip_engines/en/gas_types/biogas_landfill.htm
Since Bio gas refers to gases created by the anaerobic fermentation of biological materials, can fish excreta and the unwanted fish parts remaining during the processing of the fish be used for generating biogas? Would this be feasible? Please share your thoughts.
September 10th, 2008 at 10:03 am
From a marketing point of view, I think generating power from the aquaculture structures already at sea is an excellent idea an marketing tool (and cost saving!).
We need to sell product in an era of corporate responsibility and environmental sustainability. The ability the generate and maintain all power needed for the production and processing would be a significant gain.
For farming in sufficient volume, I wonder if wind power on top of the pods are a viable option. Many complain they are a visual blight on land, but I would guess that having them at sea would be a good option. Not sure how efficient they are at generating power though?
September 16th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Paul,
Here’s another solution to a possible “visual blight”. These turbines are installed on the sea bed, out of sight and out of mind but working silently nonetheless.
I’ve made contact with another friend in Ireland who was a founder of Open Hydro, another innovative renewable energy venture.
http://www.openhydro.com/company.html
These guys have become the first company to hook up a tidal turbine to the UK’s national grid and produce electricity.
Hopefully we can learn more from these guys.
October 27th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Hi Andrew,
There is Western Australian based company called CETO, which has the technology to purify water as well as generating electricity:
http://www.ceto.com.au/home.php
Their technology might be attractive to be used in aquaculture industry.. it’s like killing two birds with one stones.
November 16th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Hi Budijus,
Their website looks pretty interesting.
I would wonder how effective it might be with a dual purpose though. Even the independent report on their website is a bit sketchy on facts and projections. I presume they commissioned the report from an independent company but I’d like to know who paid for it.
Great idea for more offshore locations, but I’d prefer to see a less complicated system.
Sean
December 4th, 2008 at 8:04 am
[...] Independent Power for Offshore Aquaculture [...]
December 11th, 2008 at 3:00 am
Here is our concept for a hybrid OTEC power plant capable of keeping an 82,500 cubic meter cage in geostatic position.
Comments and thoughts welcome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5OLxxM64KY