Already Proven Technology Meets Milestone

[TugboatEng]

Underwater turbine spinning for 6 years off Scotland's coast is a breakthrough for tidal energy

Submerged in about 40 meters of water off Scotland’s coast, a turbine has been spinning for more than six years to harness the power of ocean tides and generate electricity.

apnews.com

Forget about the energy side. There is potential for waste at every level. SKF is claiming their seals have survived 6.5 years. SKF has been making seals for a very long time. They know how long they last. My fleet uses basic lip seals and expects a minimum 5 year life expectancy. There are deep sea lines of seals that lasts many times longer. Did SKF get public funding to study their seals of which they already know the life expectancy?

 

[stevenal]

Does your fleet operate at a depth of 40 m?

 

[TugboatEng]

The deep sea seals on semi-submersible oil drilling platforms do.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Forget about the energy side. There is potential for waste at every level. SKF is claiming their seals have survived 6.5 years. SKF has been making seals for a very long time. They know how long they last. My fleet uses basic lip seals and expects a minimum 5 year life expectancy. There are deep sea lines of seals that lasts many times longer. Did SKF get public funding to study their seals of which they already know the life expectancy?

I don't see what the issue is here? This reads like a standard press release, announcing that some mechanical device, which appears to be the first that was put into commercial use, has reached a milestone, which would seem to imply that similar systems haven't previously achieved this length of service without maintenance. Who knows, it might go for another six year or more.

With that in mind, why did this thread deserve to be titled "How we got scammed"? Where was the scam? Who's being harmed? Isn't this project doing what it was intended?

 

[ghostdigital]

Why do you think your design and seals used are identical?

Justify your claim that there is a scam..

 

[TugboatEng]

Scam is a bit harsh, maybe I'll change the title. I see projects like these and wonder how much public funding is being used to develop private capital. Are we investigating in development that has already been developed? Slapping the green energy title on it loosens scrutiny.

I'm very skeptical of the tidal turbine concept. A turbine with very little head differential isn't going to make much power. And why is it on the bottom where boundary layer effects may become significant?