This section list some of the identified risks involved. Please read through them and comment below if you have any ideas on how to solve them. General- Marketing - Not getting through to the customers?
- Theft of property - How do we protect them?
- Eco issues - What are the risks to the environment? Migrating whales etc.
- Grid certification - Law issues going on the main network?
- Land issues – Where do we set up the generators? Do we buy the
land, do we rent the land or do we start a partnership with the land owner?
- Power connection - How do we get the power to where it’s needed? Who is responsible for this; Eskom or us?
- Maintenance issues- Who maintains them? Should we sell the system to energy farms and teach them how to maintain it or do it ourselves?
- Legal issues - What if the generators go down and people lose business?
Floats- If the project pollutes the water then the project will pose a risk to the environment:
- The floats can pull apart in rough seas. Tests will be conducted to ensure that the net and ties will hold the float together
- If cheaper floats are deployed at sea it is important to ensure that the bottles don’t degrade in the salt water.
- Floats must be visible enough to ensure that boats / ships don’t get damaged accidentally and vice versa. An idea here would be to get local artists to decorate the floats. This will make them more visible and also draw attention to the project from the media.
- If the floats are too close to one another they might get tangled. How far apart should they be?
- What size should the floats be? If they are too big they’ll pull free easier in stormy weather. Smaller floats will be safer but they will have less power and more will need to be deployed which will increase the deployment costs.
Anchors- Orientation - How do you keep the anchor up right so the pulley doesn't get trapped underneath?
- Effectiveness - How do you stop the anchor from straying from the deployment point? In other word how do we make effective cheap anchors?
- Maintenance - Should it be possible to collect the guide anchors? (The guide anchors are those anchors that guide the cable back to shore)
- Environment - Since all the anchors will be on the sea bed where most of the sea life is, it is vital that its impact is considered carefully.
Pulleys and cable- Maintenance - If they break how do we connect a new one?
- Fault Detection - How do we know a pulley or cable has broken?
- Storms - How do we ensure that the cables or pulleys don't break under the strain of rough weather?
- Tangles - In the ocean all sorts of organic matter will get tangled in the mechanics.
Generator- Armature supplier - Who supplies the armature? We have to ensure that we have a backup.
- Armature RPM - Each armature handles a certain maximum RPM. How do we maintain the rotation speed?
- Hydraulic pistons - How do we add more pistons to the engine without switching off the whole thing?
- Engine strain - How do we control the pressure in the engine? For example if the pistons are working hard it might lead to a situation where suction becomes too much which can lead to burst pipes and broken valves. Should the hydraulic fluid be changed to something less dense?
- Generator portfolio - Should we support more than one type of armature and engine? Some might be cheaper and easier to maintain but less efficient. What are the pros and cons?
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