Firm Develops China's Most Advanced Tidal Generating Unit

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Unit 6 of Jiangxi's experimental tidal power station, the largest of its kind in China, passed its 72-hour trial operation smoothly on October 18, 2007, in eastern China's Zhejiang Province. Test results showed that the unit is stable in operation and that various parameters, such as temperature, vibration, run-out and flow, are satisfactory.

The station is a national experimental base for tidal generation at Jiangxia Port, southwest of Wenling City and 16 kilometers from downtown. The State Planning Commission approved the power station in 1972. The station has five bi-directional outer gate barrel type turbine-generating units with a total installed capacity of 3,200 kilowatts and an annual power output of about 6.5 million kilowatt-hours. The station ranks third in the world just after France's Lance and Canada's Annapolis tidal power station.

The Jiangxi station is a single-reservoir bi-directional power generator. Its Unit 6 has forward/backward pump-operation capability. Bi-directional pumping could better control the water level in the reservoir, improve the operation flexibility and increase power generation.

Tidal generating units convert tide energy into electricity. Because the units operate in seawater, it's crucial for them to be able to operate long-term without eroding. Unit 6 has enhanced erosion control. On top of the stainless steel structure, the unit uses a new type of protective coating jointly developed with Qingdao Ocean Erosion Control Research Institute. Compared with the anode-protection system used in existing units, the external cathode system doesn't affect flow, prolonging the time between replacements. This is the first application of cathode-protection system for tidal generating units

China has raised the utilization of renewable energy to an unprecedented height. Tidal-power generation has also gained wide attention in China and abroad.

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