News Release from Alameda Point company Saildrone:
ALAMEDA, Jan 11, 2021 – Saildrone, Inc. has launched a 72 foot (22 m) version of its uncrewed surface vehicles, known as saildrones. Powered by wind and solar energy, saildrones are capable of extreme-duration missions of up to 12 months in the open ocean. This latest and largest version, the first in the Surveyor class of USVs, is called the Saildrone Surveyor, and carries sonar equipment capable of seafloor mapping down to 7,000 m.
Enhanced seabed mapping is vital for the security, safety, and economic health of nation states, and is critical to the growth of the “Blue Economy,” which, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), is valued at $1.5 trillion a year and creates the equivalent of 31 million full-time jobs.
Coinciding with the start of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the launch of the Saildrone Surveyor presents a paradigm shift in enhanced seabed mapping, which is currently done with very large and expensive manned ships. The Surveyor, uncrewed and powering its robust sensor suite by harvesting renewable energy, delivers an equivalent survey capability, but at a fraction of the cost and carbon footprint of a traditional survey ship. Continue reading “Saildrone launches world’s largest deep ocean exploration drone”
Makani Energy, the developer of the flying kite that produces energy, is no longer being funded by the green dollars from Google’s parent company Alphabet. The announcement from Alphabet came in February 2020. Soon thereafter, an auction sign appeared at the entrance to the hangar it was leasing at the corner of West Tower Avenue and Monarch Street at Alameda Point.
“Makani’s exit from Alphabet may have been hastened by the mixed results in test flights off the coast of Norway in September last year,” wrote Jason Deign, May 22, 2020, on Green Tech Media. “In the second flight, the 600-kilowatt Makani generator was unable to make it back onto its offshore launch platform and crashed into the sea.” Continue reading “Makani Energy lost its green”
Plastic is one of the biggest threats the oceans face today. The Ocean Cleanup organization has a plan to start cleaning it up. It has designed and tested a floating net system that will be assembled at Alameda Point and towed out to the Pacific Ocean garbage patch this summer.
“The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the world’s oceans,” states The Ocean Cleanup. “It is located halfway between Hawaii and California.”
For the past two years, Ocean Cleanup has been systematically retrieving trash and analyzing the contents. “The vast majority of plastics retrieved were made of rigid or hard polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP), or derelict fishing gear (nets and ropes particularly),” states the group. The trash ranged in size from small fragments to larger objects and meter-sized fishing nets. Forty-six percent of the total mass is made up of fishing nets.
Natel, a company at Alameda Point, is developing small-scale turbines that can harness water flow to produce electricity without a dam.
Water enters white chute at bottom left and exits against the cups, forcing the conveyor to turn a generator shaft. Natel photo.
Rivers have been harnessed for the production of electricity since 1882. That’s when the world’s first hydroelectric dam was built across the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin. But dams are costly public works projects with negative environmental consequences, including the flooding of vast watersheds and blocking fish migration.
Natel has taken an invention from the dawn of hydropower called a Pelton Wheel and flattened it out. Natel’s Linear Pelton hydroEngine is able to capture more of the water’s energy than the original wheel design, employing a dual series of cups on a conveyor system connected to a generator shaft. Continue reading “Natel advances small-scale hydropower turbines”
Tenant plans to design next-generation nuclear power plant
The underground infrastructure at Alameda Point may be old and in need of replacement, but many of the Navy’s industrial and civic buildings were built to last centuries. One of those buildings is Building 9, a former records warehouse on West Tower Avenue right across the street from the Bladium that is rock solid and worth rehabbing.
According to developer Joe Ernst of srmErnst, the horizontal alignment of the steel superstructure has moved a mere 1.2 inches in the 77 years since it was built. “And for all we know, it could have been off by an inch when it was built,” said Ernst.
Building 9 at 707 West Tower Avenue undergoing $24 million renovation project.
The hangar-like structure is being readied for the first tenant, Kairos Power. Kairos will set up a laboratory to test components that will make up a new type of nuclear reactor. No radioactive material will be handled there. In fact, Ernst says it’s spelled out in the deed.
Google-owned Makani, a wind energy company at Alameda Point, moved one step closer last week to full-scale testing of its flying electricity kite. The novel invention made a rare public appearance at the company’s test site near the USS Hornet to fine-tune the docking maneuver. It will be deployed at a test site being readied in Hawaii where it will reach an altitude of 1,100 feet.
Makani energy kite undergoing testing at Alameda Point on October 1, 2015. Kite is suspended by mast on right. Tower on left is where the kite will be docked with propellers facing upward.
The wind energy craft was pioneered at Alameda Point. It employs the same principle as a stationary wind turbine, using the wind to rotate a blade connected to a generator. But unlike a traditional wind turbine, the tethered energy kite can soar to twice the height, accessing stronger wind force, while using a fraction of the materials. Electricity is transmitted to the base through the tether.
One of the big engineering challenges has been to design how the kite will launch itself into the air from a docking tower and then return when the wind dies down. An earlier prototype was tested on the former Navy airfield while tethered to a truck-mounted base.
The new model has three times the wingspan and twice as many motors and generators as its predecessor. The 84-foot carbon fiber craft uses eight motors to vertically take off and land on its base tower. Once airborne, the motors turn off, and the blades begin driving generators as the kite rotates in the wind.
Makani energy kite on transport trailer at Alameda Point test site.
Makani found an ideal spot to launch its kite atParker Ranchin Waimea, Hawaii. The 250,000-acre cattle ranch is diversifying into clean energy projects. At a workshop on alternative energy hosted by Parker Ranch in July 2015, they referred to the local wind corridor on the Big Island as a world-class resource. A traditional wind turbine farm is on the drawing board.
Before Makani can send its kite into the sky, it must first gain approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Makani representatives have met with local pilots in Hawaii to get their input, according to a story published on October 2 in West Hawaii Today, a daily newspaper circulated on the west side of the Big Island. The test site is five miles from the Waimea Airport.
“Makani has laid out its plans to local groups on the Big Island, including pilots last year who wanted to make sure every measure possible is taken to make sure the kite and tether are visible,” wrote West Hawaii Today’s Bret Yager. Citing Makani project manager Alden Woodrow, Yager stated, “Woodrow said on Thursday the kite will be lighted, the tether will be marked for visibility and that the FAA may provide other guidance for how the kite’s visibility should be enhanced.”
Kite with tether cable extending from tower to belly of kite, with mast suspending the kite during testing. Vertical platform extending from tower is the docking pad for the kite when not flying.
Google’s experimental product division acquired Makani in 2013. Last year they signed a leasing deal with the city for Building 400, the hangar across the street from their office in the old Air Control Tower, where the company is betting on producing a commercially viable clean energy product.
The company’s website points out that conventional wind turbines are limited by height and the available locations where prevailing winds make economic sense. “The wind moves faster and offers exponentially greater power at higher altitudes,” states Makani’s website. “When the wind speed doubles, the amount of available power increases eightfold.” One kite will produce enough electricity to power 300 homes.
Originally published in the Alameda Sun.
Additional reading:
“Google’s Makani: From Regulatory To Technical To Wildlife Challenges” by Mike Barnard, February 19, 2014, published on the CleanTechnica website.
Excerpt:
“Finally, a little about wildlife. While the Makani device will be better than fossil fuel generation for wildlife, the reality is that they require a thin, invisible cable to be flying from ground level to 350 meters (1000 feet) for the onshore model or 650 meters (2000 feet) for the offshore product. That cable will be flying through a cone at a speed of around 130-140 kph near the wing, and slowing as it nears the ground. This is likely to be much more difficult to perceive and avoid than any wind turbine blade for birds. The best evidence is that many species of birds including seabirds and many raptors simply adapt to wind farms and avoid them, as there are highly visible masts and blades that they perceive as they do jutting islands and trees. There is no evidence to suggest that this is true for Makani’s relatively small masts, long tethers, and flying wings. The tethers will cover a much, much greater volume of airspace than wind turbine blades. It is difficult to not see greater avian mortality as a likely outcome, with resultant challenges for safe siting.”
An old aircraft hangar at Alameda Point will become the first production facility in the world for an innovative hydropower turbine. After two years of testing and design work, Natel Energy began outfitting the hangar this summer, which is just a few hundred yards from their headquarters in the former Control Tower for the Navy airfield. “By 2016 we expect to be producing 75 units a year,” said Chief Executive Officer Gia Schneider, “and reach 200 units a year by 2017.”
HydroEngine drive system called a cassette. Blades connected to conveyor belts are moved by water guided by fins called guidevanes (not shown). As water contacts first set of blades, the belt is moved upward, while exiting water drives the rear set of blades downward. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
Formed by alumni of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Natel Energy set out to create a utility-scale hydropower system without the costs and environmental consequences of hydroelectric dams.
Natel Energy touts their turbine system, trademarked EcoSmartHydro™ Power, as an environmentally superior method of watershed development because it does not require flooding an entire ecosystem to drive an electric hydropower generator at a dam.
“Whereas conventional hydropower is characterized by a centralized approach to project planning and large environmental footprint, EcoSmartHydro™ Power is distributed, low-impact, yet still successful at the utility scale,” proclaims the company’s website. “Conventional hydropower plants are designed solely to maximize power output. EcoSmartHydro™ Power plants are designed to maximize power output while maintaining the health of watershed ecosystems.”
When installed in streams and small rivers, the system allows for young fish to travel downstream and through the system unharmed. Traditional fish ladders can be installed for spawning fish travelling upstream.
The heart of the system, called a cassette, is about the size of a king size bed. It consists of a conveyor belt of blades that are moved as water flows through. A generator connected to one or both of the conveyor shafts generates electricity.
The system can be installed virtually anywhere there is flowing water, such as irrigation canals, water supply channels, thermal power plant water outfalls, and existing non-hydroelectric dams. The Natel Energy system is able to generate electricity with relatively small drops in elevation because it’s based solely on water flow, not water pressure.
Water canal shown as an example of existing water flow where Natel Energy hydropower system can be installed. Natel Energy photo. Used by persmission.
In December 2013, Natel Energy got a boost from the U.S. Department of Energy with a $2 million tax credit under the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit program. The money for product development and manufacturing, however, is coming solely from investors. “We don’t get any benefit from the tax program until we start selling our product,” said Schneider.
“The company currently has 14 employees, and we will be adding 80 to 90 people as production grows at Alameda Point, with up to 35 of those in manufacturing,” said Schneider. “Our goal is to give special attention to hiring and training of veterans and to make use of Department of Energy vocational training programs.”
Employees assembling gearbox at Alameda Point hangar. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
All of the parts and components of the turbine are manufactured in the United States. Schneider said that working with parts suppliers in the U.S. during the product-development phase made the process logistically less stressful and time-consuming. For some of their parts, the company would not have gained any cost advantage by going outside the U.S., according to Schneider. She said that once production levels reach the point where new production facilities are being added elsewhere in the U.S. or the world, some parts may be sourced from outside the country.
Assembling cassette drive belt. Belt connectors underwent testing and re-working at Alameda Point. Final product surpassed 60 million cycles without failure. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
Videos made by Natel Energy this year offer a look into the elaborate parts testing program the company has been running at their Alameda Point headquarters, as well as a look into the process of setting up their production facility. An animated video shows how their system works in the field.
Example of flowing body of water where Natel Energy system can be installed to create energy with minimal civil engineering. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
Water canal – example of where Natel Energy’s turbine can be easily installed to create electricity. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
Employees moving HydroEngine component at Alameda Point production facility. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
Gearbox for HydroEngine. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
Water testing unit set up next to Control Tower. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
Employees moving the cassette in new production facility. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
Employees moving HydroEngine components in hangar production facility. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
Employees assembling HydroEngine at Alameda Point. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
Shipping container rigged up with scale model of HydroEngine turbine for testing. White pipe circulates water. Control Tower on right. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
Employee checking specs as HydroEngine cassette is being set up. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
Employee testing the cassette. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
Building 400A production space. Natel Energy photo. Used by permission.
Building 400A, former aircraft hangar at Alameda Point. Control Tower in background.
Alameda Point Environmental Report 