The Sky’s the limit – or is it?
Stuart Murphy, founder and inventor of TPGen24, took time out recently to
TPGen24 is a UK-based tidal range renewables developer. With the overarching aim of achieving 100% carbon neutral green base load electricity, we have designed a near-shore power island capable of generating massive amounts of clean energy solely from the rise and fall of the tide.
Overcoming the inherent intermittency issues of solar and wind-based systems, TPGen24 has been designed to operate both in sync with the rise and fall of the tide and, through smart controls, independently of it too.
A refreshingly simple, turbine-loaded, 15 x 7.5km three lagoon system located at least 1km offshore, TPGen24 is a small-impact, low-maintenance and high-yield renewable power plant which can perpetually produce green energy for centuries to come.
To explore the systems, the story behind it and its potential, click here.
The invention of renewable energy entrepreneur and investor, Stuart Murphy TPGen24 a revolutionary tidal energy system, able to generate clean electricity perpetually. A long-time, passionate advocate on climate change issues, Stuart became a keen green energy enthusiast almost 20 years ago.
As an amateur meteorologist, he became interested in how weather patterns dictate the efficiency and effectiveness of core renewable systems, particularly wind and solar power, which can only operate in specific weather conditions.
He surmised that, when the sun doesn’t shine, the wind doesn’t blow and the climatic pressure is not exactly right, these systems fail to operate. Not only that, this situation meant demand needed to be topped up by controversial sources such as Nuclear, fossil fuels including coal and gas, as well as imported energy, from ambiguous sources.
This was further proven by the ongoing, publicly available, Energy Dashboard, which clearly shows this pattern on a daily basis.
It was the start of a journey which would lead him to developing TPGen24.
Crucially, what this situation demonstrated is that current capacity is nowhere near enough to meet societal demands.
As the global population’s appetite for cheap and plentiful electricity increases, in line with our rapidly growing awareness of climate change issues, current and future supply might not be able to keep up.
Currently, we cannot have our cake and eat it. With no Planet B to go to, society needs to look at scalable clean energy solutions which can satisfy high-energy lifestyles, from electric vehicles and smart homes through to hydrogen capture and critical data centres.
Central to this is the provision of base load electricity. Simply, this is the minimum amount of power needed to be supplied to the electrical grid at any given time.
This led Stuart to start considering ways in which this glaring gap could be filled, in order to deliver the sizeable amount of baseload energy we need, whilst reversing climate change and protecting the planet.
Growing up on the North West coast, Stuart had long been fascinated by the majesty and consistency of the sea, how its tides rose and fell with regularity as well as its immense kinetic power.
Whilst Stuart pursued a number of different business interests, including the highly successful Exacta PLC, the UK’s leading auditor of historic business rates, he never forgot those formative years spent looking out to sea.
Considering potential solutions to the inherent intermittency problems which plague our current renewable energy mix, he soon realised that the perpetual nature of the tides could be used to generate green electricity with reliable regularity.
Although tidal generation is an ancient concept, it’s a form of generation which has never received the same focus as wind or solar systems. Previous initiatives met with varying degrees of success and never seemed to make a strong case for the resource.
Stuart’s aim was, and is, to change this situation, not only demonstrating how this underexplored resource should be a core part of the renewable energy mix but show how the power of our tides can generate clean base load energy 24/7, 365 days a year.
It was simply a case of inverting a system which would be able to deliver this objective, whilst also making a business case for why systems like TPGen24 are crucial to our green socio-economic ambitions.
Following 10 years of intensive research and development, including proof the system could generate base load electricity, TPGen24 has now become a reality, ready to leap from the page and become reality.
To find out more about how the system works, click here.
Refreshingly simple, TPGen24 is a tidal lagoon-based system, which harnesses and manipulates the immense power of our tidal ranges to generate green energy.
A single plant alone can generate enough electricity to power 800,000 homes or recharge up to 10 million electric cars a year, just through utilising the power of the world’s tidal ranges.
The core of a TPGen24 plant comprises three central, tiered lagoons. Each one is separated by a dam, loaded with 10,000 vertically stacked turbine units, bookended by smart-controlled sluice gates.
Water passes through the turbines, turning the blades as the tide rises and falls, generating energy.
However, what set TPGen24 apart from other tidal systems is the ability to control the timing of the water flow.
Using the smart-controlled sluice gate network, water can be stored within the lagoons regardless of tidal patterns, and release on demand.
This offers essential flexibility and round-the-clock provision other renewable systems cannot.
The core of the TPGen24 plant is further supported, and enhanced, by a series of reserve lagoons.
These can store even more water to be released during peak demand.
A wide, frontal lagoon provides essential protection to the central system, but can also help generate more power through the dissipation of large swells when complemented with a pontoon network within.
TPGen24 can be deployed in any coastal region with a high tidal range, which can be found across almost every continent in the world.
Each plant is 15km by 7.5km, positioned at least 1km offshore, minimising its environmental impact on the coastline.
TPGen24’s structure, made from steel-reinforced concrete, is low maintenance and will last for centuries, not decades.
Further, concrete’s ability to capture carbon also makes it a holistic, long-term contributor toward net-zero carbon.
TPGen24 also presents a number of complementary, socio-economic benefits which bring further value.
For more specific, technical details on how TPGen24 operates, as well as information on the plant’s outputs click here.
TPGen24 is first, and foremost, a system to generate green energy continuously, perpetually, supporting ongoing international decarbonisation.
However it also has the potential to deliver further benefits across society, particularly the UK and Ireland.
Construction of TPGen24 plants along Wales and the West Coast of England, Scotland and Ireland could drive investment into struggling coastal communities. It will mean more jobs, greater opportunity and economic revival in some of this country’s poorest districts.
Not only could it offer much-needed local employment and urban renewal, but establish the British Isles as a leading expert in tidal energy – a lucrative services export opportunity.
Taking a wider, global perspective, TPGen24 could also help support mass CleanTech adoption. The possibilities are many, including:
The EV Revolution: Providing the electricity we need to say goodbye to ICE vehicles once and for all.
Hydrogen Capture: Delivering the energy required to produce this game-changing green fuel.
Big Data Centres: Enabling greater digital adoption, powering and cooling the essential infrastructure to make this possible.
Smart Homes: Supporting modern life through powering technology which will make our lives easier and happier.
In development for a decade, intensive CFD modelling has proven a TPGen24 plant can generate electricity 24/7, 365 days a year in the world’s best tidal ranges.
We now have a compelling case, and people are starting to take notice. Over the last six months, we have started the journey of transforming the digital to the physical.
We have reached out across the scientific, engineering, policy and business community and are already exploring partnerships with leading academic institutions and professional bodies.
Feedback has been positive and numerous conversations within the mechanical, civil and structural engineering community have indicated TPGen24 is possible to build.
A Research Transfer Partnership is also being negotiated with a leading centre of tidal energy research, to concentrate on the system’s mechanics, as well as to divine the exact cost per megawatt unit.
This latter knowledge is essential for any serious renewable energy system.
Our next challenge is to address the numerous consent issues which currently exist around any type of offshore energy.
We’ll be working with a leading academic institution to address these head on and prove why TPGen24 is a no-brainer.
On a policy level, we are engaged with the Welsh Assembly, as part of the Government’s Tidal Lagoon Challenge Forum, and have signed up as a member of Marine Energy Wales (MEW) as well as the Selkie Project.
We are now looking for investors and interested parties, across the breadth of UK business and industry, looking to be involved in the next big renewables market.
Interest in tidal is starting to gather momentum nationwide, with increasingly more political capital given to discussing it, column inches printed on the topic and more research funds becoming available.
Why not be part of this exciting journey, and part of a project which promises to deliver baseline green electricity 24/7 in perpetuity?
To arrange a meeting with the TPGen24 team to find out more click here.
Stuart Murphy, founder and inventor of TPGen24, took time out recently to
TPGen24’s founder, Stuart Murphy took to the airwaves this morning, discussing his
In Utility Week’s insightful article about hydrogen capture, Stuart puts forward his
To find out more about how you can get involved in TPGen24, please get in touch with the team, who will be delighted to go into further detail about the system:
