Design and development of subsea power and instrumentation system for new ocean current turbine power module

Abstract

The ocean current energy is one of the clean forms of available renewable energy sources. Based on the topography of the islands, the subsea current is comparatively more than the mainland. Most of the islands are not having self-sustained power sources due to the limitations of infrastructure even though the power requirement is less. The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) of Ministry of Earth Sciences has undertaken the research and development of an ocean current power module for such islands. The first prototype ocean current turbine (OCT) power module was tested at Macpherson Strait in the Andaman open sea. The subsea power module of the system comprises of the turbine, transmission system, generator and the associated power and instrumentation systems. The development and implementation of electrical and instrumentation system for an underwater OCT power module are one of the challenging task, hence the entire system required to be designed for in-situ conditions. This paper aims to describe the design of Power take off (PTO) system, data acquisition, and wireless communication of prototype ocean current power module trials in open sea conditions.