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Description
Unlike other parts of the world, Mexico has low ocean current speeds (~1 m/s). The Cozumel Channel is an example of a site where such turbines could be installed since average current speeds of the Yucatán Current yearlong are situated in the range of 0.88-1.04 m/s. In order to take advantage of the existing conditions at Cozumel, the development of a hydrokinetic turbine became the focus of this CEMIE-Océano’s project. A vertical axis helical turbine design was selected as the most suitable, owing to its omnidirectional and low current speed operational characteristics.
This project is funded by CEMIE-Océano (Fondo Sectorial SENER-CONACYT), CONAHCYT, the Newton Funds and MaRINET2.
Location
The device is planned to be located in the Cozumel Channel, near the Cozumel island in the Mexican Caribbean (20.55528°, -86.92895°).
Licensing Information
Since February 2023, CEMIE-Océano provided the required documentation to the Mexican Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, SEMARNAT) and the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas, CONANP) for the approval of the installation of the oceanographic buoy that will serve as support of the 1m-diameter vertical axis helical turbine prototype. On August 14, 2023, a request was filed in the Mexican Secretariat of the Navy (Secretaría de Marina, SEMAR) to follow up the request.
Project Progress
A small-scale model, 16cm (diameter) x 16cm (height) was constructed and tested utilizing the flume at Laboratorio de Costas and Puertos at Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
Later, a 1m-diameter vertical axis helical turbine prototype was designed and constructed at Instituto de Ingeniería, UNAM. In 2021, experimental tests were carried out on this prototype using the towing tank at Kelvin Hydrodynamic Laboratory, University of Strathclyde, UK.
In 2022, field tests were carried out by the Instituto de Ingeniería, UNAM to evaluate the performance under different conditions at Lago de Tequesquitengo, Morelos, Mexico. To carry out these tests a catamaran was designed and built with the purpose of holding the turbine in place while being towed. The towing operation was executed in steady water conditions at constant speeds, resulting in relative velocities between 0.6 and 1.2 m/s. An evaluation of the performance of a hydrokinetic turbine driven by variable wind conditions was also made.
Regarding the environmental impacts of the deployment of marine current turbines in the Cozumel Channel, in 2021, a numerical study was conducted to determine the effects on the currents of the presence of a large number of hydrogenerators (5,300).
Additionally, experiments, both on-site (river fish farm) and in the laboratory, are under development to assess changes in fish behavior and their spatial use with and without this vertical axis turbine, functioning at different speeds.
The next step is to test the turbine in the Cozumel Channel. These tests will be performed as soon as the required permits are approved by the Mexican authorities.
Key Environmental Issues
Since almost 80% of Cozumel’s territory comprises protected areas, the team selected the zone between two reserves (Área Natural Protegida de Flora y Fauna de la Isla de Cozumel and Parque nacional de Arrecifes de Cozumel) for the turbine installation, which falls outside said reserves. Species such as dolphins, marine turtles, sharks and whale sharks are known to reside near and around the island, but more so on the eastern side. A list of known species residing in the area is provided in table 1, where none of the species are listed as threatened by federal laws (NA).
Table 1. Species with potential occur in the deployment area
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Class |
Order |
Species |
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Fauna |
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|
Anthozoa (Corals) |
Scleractinia |
Madracis decatis |
|
Diploria clivosa |
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Diploria strigosa |
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Manicina areolata |
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|
Montastrae cavernosa |
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|
Stephanocoenia intercepta |
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|
Gardineria minor |
||
|
Agaricia agaricites |
||
|
Siderastrea radians |
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|
Porites astreoides |
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|
Hydroza (Hydrozoans) |
Anthoathecata |
Stylaster roseus |
|
Flora |
||
|
Chlorophyceae (Green algae)
|
Bryopsidales
|
Udotea conglutinata |
|
Udotea wilsoni |
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|
Udotea flabellum |
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|
Udotea occidentalis A |
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|
Penicillus pyriformis A |
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|
Penicillus capitatus |
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|
Penicillus lamourouxii |
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|
Rhipocephalus phoenix |
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|
Halimeda thuna |
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|
Halimeda discoidea |
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|
Halimeda incrasata |
||
|
Liliopsida (Sea grass) |
Alismatales |
Thalassia testudium |