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SEADOV
FAQ'S
Q.
If Seadov is so good, why hasn’t it been thought of before?
A.
This is a question that can be asked of any invention. The particular backgrounds and interaction of experience of Seadov’s
creators led logically to a powerful integration of several established technologies - which are not typically associated.
This gave birth to Seadov, an oil industry vessel, moored with offshore industry technology, to support sustainable energy
harvesting systems, to power reverse osmosis, and pump water to shore.
Q.
Can Seadov supply both potable water and electrical power to shore?
A.
Yes, both power and water can be supplied to shore. This will be of
particular use in third world countries where both grid electricity
and a clean water supply are lacking or are unreliable. Also remote
coastal communities and mining or industrial projects could use power
and water output supplied by Seadov.
Q.
Desalination of sea water requires a lot of energy. Wouldn’t it be better to recycle treated effluent?
A.
Effluent recycling is a viable choice in the absence of a Seadov deployment.
However treating recycled water to potable quality requires energy.
Therefore unless non-polluting green energy is used, as is the case
with Seadov, there will be significant CO2 emissions.
Q.
Isn’t desalination more expensive than other options?
A.
This depends on the location, the cost of energy and what the “other options” are, and the rigour of their costing processes.
In some parts of the world desalination is already competitive with other available options although using expensive fossil
fuel. Moreover, with improvements in technology the capital and operating costs are continuing to decline.
Q.
Doesn’t desalinated water corrode pipes and taste bad?
A.
Not if the ph (acidity or alkalinity) of the desalinated water is adjusted.
This is the case with Seadov.
Q.
Are not dams a better option?
A.
The environmental and social dislocation costs of dams are increasingly being recognized and due to climate change there is
reduced runoff in many catchment areas; also evaporation is quite significant. In other words dams are becoming less
cost-effective.
Q.
Why use green energy? Isn't wind more expensive and less reliable than coal and gas?
A.
The relative cost of renewable energy depends on whether the costs of pollution and greenhouse effects are included in other
energy sources. The cost of wind power is coming down all the time, having dropped by a factor of 5 in real terms since the
early 1980s, while the cost of energy from fossil fuels is expected to rise in real terms. Sequestration of CO2 at fossil
fuelled power stations, as is being seriously proposed, will further increase the cost of fossil fuelled energy. As to the
reliability of potable water supply, wind turbines are very reliable machines and, although wind speed does fluctuate,
with optimum sizing of the desalination plant for a given site, electrical energy in excess of the desalination plant’s
requirements during times of high wind speed will be fed ashore into the electrical grid to be matched by the drawing of
electrical energy from the grid during times of low wind speed. Such electrical energy exchange is seamless and is well
established technology.
Q.
Wave and tidal current energy technologies are not yet established, are they?
A.
The principles on which these technologies are based have been known
since the 1970s and have been proven. Cheap oil and politics have prevented
their commercial development until now, but both are developing rapidly.
Seadov plans to research the adaptation of these technologies to an
offshore shipboard application.
Q.
Why not use nuclear power? It’s obviously the answer.
A.
Opinions are widely divided on the real costs of nuclear power (including government subsidies), which include radioactive
waste disposal, decommissioning costs at end of life and danger of increasing amounts of fissionable material falling into
the hands of terrorists and so on. We believe that there are safer options and Seadov is pursuing them.
Q.
How do Seadov vessels cope with extreme winds and seas which occur during a cyclone?
A.
Seadov vessels are typically un-manned and are moored using mooring systems which are designed and rated for cyclone and storm
conditions. Because Seadov vessels are ship shaped and are free to swing head-to-weather in excessive conditions, the mooring
systems are relatively light. The mooring technology that Seadov will use is well-established and has been utilised in the
offshore oil and gas industry for several decades. Mooring systems will be specifically designed for each Seadov site.
Q.
Are Seadov vessels a hazard to aircraft?
A.
Seadov vessels will not have particularly large air-drafts (height above
waterline) but will be equipped with CAA compliant marker lights (typically
red-flashing lights as placed upon high chimneys and towers). As fixed
facilities which will be continuously present over many years Seadov
units will be marked upon nautical and aeronautical charts, and the
data which these charts display includes the height of potential obstructions.
Q.
Will the safety of amateur and professional fishers be compromised?
A.
Seadov vessels will be marked upon nautical and aeronautical charts and the data which these charts display will facilitate
appropriate interaction with fishers. As a moored structure, each Seadov unit will carry the standard (statutory) sound and
light signals required. Fishers will not need to change their routine navigational practices because of the presence of a
Seadov vessel.
Q.
Will sea-life safety be compromised?
A.
No, it will be enhanced. It has also been observed that each vessel
and its mooring will be beneficially colonised as ‘reef’ by marine species
endemic at each site, and each site will be a sanctuary.
Tidal turbines
turn very slowly and sea life will easily avoid them. OWCs (Oscillating
Wave Columns) are just chambers where waves surge up and down - not
a problem for fish. Tests have shown that fish will move away from the
pressure wave at the outside circumference of the OWC.
Q.
How is salt concentration and disposal dealt with?
A.
The solution is dilution. Basically the salty-water by-product of the
on-board RO (Reverse Osmosis) plant is about twice as concentrated as
sea water. However Seadov vessels will be located at least 10 kilometers
offshore and the expelled water from the RO plant will be discharged
through diffusers at several locations around the hull high in the water
column, in a way that ensures it is mixed and diluted to the point where
there is no significant local increase in salinity. Sea currents will
quickly mix and dilute the higher salinity reject water. Also the Seadov
disposal of salt water is located in the upper-water levels, which facilitates
dispersal.
Seadov’s waste salt disposal is inherently more efficient than that
of shore-based desalination plants, which typically dump waste brine
from a single pipe-head at the sea-bed. In any event Seadov is keen
for the disposal of salt water waste to be as environmentally sound
as Seadov itself. Salt concentration in waste water can be pre-diluted
by mixing with seawater before disposal if this is necessary.
Q.
How much electrical power will be generated on Seadov on a given day?
A.
The electrical energy generated on board a Seadov vessel will vary from site to site. For example an average of around 78,000
kWh per day (3.25 MW) for the Gold Coast, Australia and around 144,000 kWh per day (6 MW) for Perth, Australia is predicted.
Q.
Does pipe to shore compromise boat safety?
A.
As fixed facilities, which will be continuously present over many years, Seadov vessels will be marked upon nautical charts
and, as is the case with all sea-bed pipelines, power lines and telephone cables, the sea-bed in near proximity will be marked
on charts to indicate the prohibition of anchoring. It is anticipated that this will be the only interaction of boats with the
pipe-line.
Q.
Is the pipe to shore vulnerable?
A.
The ship to shore pipeline will be stabilized and ballasted to ensure it remains as-laid on the sea-bed, and is secure from
tides, current and heavy weather. The pipeline will become part of the sea-bed’s ecology with very little impact after the
initial lay. Whilst the pipeline will be largely exposed and somewhat vulnerable to damage from illegal anchoring by vessels,
such damage cannot cause a polluting spill or hazardous event as would be the case with an exposed oil or gas pipe-line.
Nevertheless where site conditions require it additional protection can be provided.
Q.
Are scuba divers safe?
A.
It is not anticipated that Seadov units will be sited such that recreational divers will be attracted to dive on Seadov assets.
In any event Seadov vessels will be restricted areas and private property - and will be marked accordingly. Seadov maintenance
will require diving operations from time-to-time and we anticipate that marine biologists may also take the opportunity to
utilise our facilities, but these operations will be conducted by professional and qualified divers, and planned in concert
with the Seadov Company.
Q.
Will Seadov water be an expensive waste when rainfall causes the dams to overflow?
A.
No, the cost of Seadov water is the cost of certainty of supply in an
uncertain environment. Practically speaking, this would provide opportunities
for system maintenance during rare overflow events.
Q.
What sort of contract would Seadov seek with the Government?
A.
A long-term contract to supply water at an agreed price, viable for
Government and Seadov…
Q.
Why should the Government risk a long term contract with an untried technology?
A.
Seadov does not employ any untried technology; all Seadov technologies
are tried and proven:
• offshore mooring technology,
• wind-farm technology,
• tidal turbine technology,
• wave chamber technology,
• reverse osmosis technology,
• pipe-lay & pumping technology,
• power transmission technology.
Q.
Why should Government risk a long-term contract with an untried company?
A.
Seadov Pty. Ltd. is the research and development partner who with established
and significant corporations within associated industries including
financial investment groups will JV at a given site project....subject
to viability.
Q.
If we use sustainable energy from wind farms to power onshore RO plants, why is Seadov better?
A.
We would like to see both, and the more renewable energy we use instead
of fossil fuels, the better. However Seadov:
• has no transmission losses – so it uses the electricity it makes
far more efficiently,
• does not take up valuable sea-side land, or create an eye-sore,
• will not impact vulnerable bird species,
• will not impact agricultural production,
• will be sited in optimal energy environments and accesses multiple
harvestable
renewable energy forms, not just wind,
• Will recycle oil-tankers to make sustainable energy.
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