Harnessing the ocean to produce electricity

[A.Rafay]

ISLAMABAD: As the government explores electricity generation through alternative means, a Norwegian company has offered to introduce ocean wave-based electricity production technology in Pakistan.
The Tide Tec Company is willing to explore the potential of electricity production from energy harnessed from the tides and waves of Pakistan’s oceans. The company says it intends to setup on-shore plants in Karachi.
Tidal and wave energy falls under the category of inexhaustible energy resources. In a plant using wave energy, energy harnessed from waves produced in a channel or ocean is used to run turbines, which in turn power generators that produce electricity. Tide Tec specialises in developing technology for energy producing bridges that harness the potential of tidal and wave energy.
Tidal energy is an environment-friendly and more predictable resource, as compared to wind energy. The cost for establishing a wave energy infrastructure is approximately equal to a wind-based power plant.
Before the company starts operating in Pakistan, it will have to pass through a rigorous process: it has to convince policymakers; get approvals; and seek various sorts of no-objection certificates from almost two dozen government departments.
The company enjoyed a small measure of success when Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh promised to facilitate the investment during a meeting with Arne Kollandsrud, Tide Tec’s chief executive.
According to a finance ministry handout, the company will follow procedures – including technology verification, a pre-study, a scale-test and full-scale production – for the establishment of a wave/tidal-based energy production system in Pakistan.
The company briefed the finance minister about the working of the technology, possible challenges, and procedural steps necessary for the installation of a wave and tidal-based power plant. Endorsing the idea, the finance minister has asked Tide Tec to also brief the Planning Commission, officials of the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB), the Ministry of Water and Power, the Central Power Purchasing Agency and the Planning Department of the Sindh government within a few days to further work out the details of the project.