馬耳他大學(xué)與其海上儲能子公司FLASC合作，評估將可再生能源和儲能解決方案與浮動防波堤相結(jié)合的潛力。
2018年在馬耳他測試的FLASC浮式存儲原型(由FLASC BV提供)
該項目名為FORTRES，由馬耳他能源和水利局資助，將通過創(chuàng)建遮蔽水域來緩解惡劣天氣下的挑戰(zhàn)，同時提供長期儲能服務(wù)，使防波堤能夠發(fā)揮支持漂浮太陽能等可再生能源的雙重作用。
隨著海上活動的增加，浮式防波堤正成為深水區(qū)的首選方案，因為底部固定的傳統(tǒng)布置通常僅限于淺水區(qū)。
浮動系統(tǒng)也可以安裝在海底條件較差的地點，因為它們的安裝和操作高度獨(dú)立于海底特性。
此外，浮式防波堤結(jié)構(gòu)能夠在不影響底棲動植物群、阻擋水流、沉積物移動和魚類遷徙的情況下衰減波浪。
FORTRES項目目前正在模擬FLASC儲能系統(tǒng)的運(yùn)行，該儲能系統(tǒng)集成在浮動防波堤中，以平滑來自同一位置的海上風(fēng)力渦輪機(jī)和浮動太陽能平臺的可再生能源間歇性供應(yīng)。
盡管已經(jīng)在海岸附近和碼頭部署了許多技術(shù)，用于防止海岸線侵蝕和緩解海上停泊活動，但部署在遠(yuǎn)離陸地的大規(guī)模浮動防波堤尚未在商業(yè)規(guī)模上得到證實。
FORTRES概念將能量儲存集成在浮式防波堤內(nèi)。使用ANSYS進(jìn)行流體動力學(xué)模擬(由馬耳他大學(xué)提供)
博士研究人員Charise Cutagar解釋說，F(xiàn)ORTRES項目旨在解決目前深海漂浮防波堤行為特征方面的知識差距，同時旨在通過整合儲能來提高其可行性。
除了防波堤的幾何形狀外，系泊系統(tǒng)也被確定為決定浮式結(jié)構(gòu)的波浪衰減能力的關(guān)鍵因素。
“利用真實的間歇功率數(shù)據(jù)對存儲系統(tǒng)進(jìn)行統(tǒng)計分析和數(shù)值建模，使我們能夠預(yù)測并更好地了解當(dāng)將存儲系統(tǒng)合并到浮式防波堤的設(shè)計中時，如何有效地確定存儲系統(tǒng)的尺寸。
博士研究員Andrew Borg表示：“了解存儲系統(tǒng)容量和能源可用性之間的權(quán)衡為我們的下一步——分析整個項目的經(jīng)濟(jì)可行性——提供了良好的基礎(chǔ)。”。
隨著歐盟制定雄心勃勃的目標(biāo)，通過綠色協(xié)議使其能源供應(yīng)系統(tǒng)脫碳，探索可再生能源發(fā)電系統(tǒng)與海上儲存系統(tǒng)合用的機(jī)會至關(guān)重要。
預(yù)計這種方法將能夠更有效地利用海洋空間，同時避免在陸地上需要額外的空間來容納儲能基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施。這對地中海中部的馬耳他島等島嶼來說可能非常有利，因為這些島嶼的陸地空間有限，無法容納公用事業(yè)規(guī)模的可持續(xù)能源技術(shù)解決方案。
The University of Malta has teamed up with its offshore energy storage spin-off FLASC to assess the potential of integrating renewable energy and energy storage solutions with floating breakwaters.
The project, dubbed FORTRESS , which is being funded by the Malta Energy and Water Agency, will enable breakwaters to serve the dual role of supporting renewables such as floating solar by creating sheltered water areas to mitigate challenges in rough weather, while providing long duration energy storage services .
With increased offshore activity, floating breakwaters are becoming the preferred alternative in deep waters since bottom-fixed, conventional arrangements are typically limited to shallow waters.
The floating systems may also be installed at sites having poor seabed conditions as their installation and operation are highly independent of the seafloor characteristics.
Furthermore, floating breakwater structures have the ability to attenuate waves without affecting benthic flora and fauna, blocking water flow, currents, sediment movement and fish migration.
The FORTRESS project is currently simulating the operation of the FLASC energy storage system integrated into a floating breakwater when smoothing the intermittent supply of renewable energy from co-located offshore wind turbines and floating solar platforms .
Despite numerous technologies already deployed close to shores and in marinas which are used to protect against shoreline erosion and ease sea berthing activities, floating breakwaters of large scale deployed farther away from the landmass have not yet been proven on a commercial scale.
Doctoral researcher Charise Cutajar explained that the project FORTRESS seeks to address the present knowledge gap with regards to floating breakwaters behavioral characteristics in deep seas, while aiming to improve their viability through the integration of energy storage.
Alongside the geometry of the breakwater, the mooring system has also been identified as a critical factor that determines the wave attenuating capability of the floating structure.
“Statistical analyses and numerical modelling of the storage system with real intermittent power data have allowed us to predict and gain a better understanding of how to efficiently size the storage system when amalgamated within a floating breakwater’s design.
“Understanding the trade-off between storage system capacity and energy availability has provided a good foundation for our next step – that of analyzing the economic feasibility of the project as a whole,” stated doctoral researcher Andrew Borg .
As the EU sets ambitious targets to decarbonize its energy supply system through the Green Deal, it is essential to explore opportunities to co-locate renewable energy generation systems with storage at sea.
The approach is expected to enable more efficient use of marine spaces, while avoiding the need for additional space on land to accommodate energy storage infrastructure. This could be very beneficial for islands, such as the central Mediterranean island of Malta, which have limited space on land to accommodate utility-scale sustainable energy technology solutions.
