Wave Energy Systems
The creation of a new industry does not happen very often. But this is really what Waves4Power is all about. We are building a new European energy industry that is totally fossil free and renewable. Waves4Power is a leading player in the green marine energy industry which is expected to be the future in energy production for Europe as well as the rest of the world.
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Product Details
The WaveEL demonstration project at Runde in Norway was launched in February 2016 with the placement of the WaveEL buoy on site. The final connection to the local land based power grid is expected spring 2017.
The ocean’s waves harbor tremendous amounts of raw energy and represent the single largest untapped source of renewable energy today. Converted into electricity – by means of a Wave Energy Converter (WEC) – wave energy could potentially satisfy up to one tenth of current global power demands.
- Waves4Power is developing, building and selling Wave Energy Systems
- We are using the free energy in ocean waves to generate electric power
- We are different in that we do not invent and use unproven new components but depend on well tested components from reputable suppliers like Siemens, Parker, Jotun and nkt cables, to name a few
Waves4Power’s core values:
Passion – we believe in what we are doing and we believe we are doing the right thing.
Well Being – everybody involved should benefit from our operation, especially the global environment.
Down-to-Earth – Concept focusing on functionality, simplicity and total economy
Survivable
Survival at Sea
Size matters and in the ocean small is beautiful. Survival of the fittest is represented by navigation and weather buoys known to live on for decades and some even for a century in the ocean. WaveEL is like the weather and navigation buoys – an experts on survival.
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Accessible
From Smaller Vessels
In the wave climate where WaveEL performs the best, there will be but few opportunities when the weather allow for a visit to the wave power buoy. Accessibility than is key.
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Financially Feasible
Generating Green Energy at the Right Cost
Without a profitable system there will be no future for wave power. The four key parameters that determine the cost of the power produced are easily defined but not at all as easily obtained. They are the manufacturing cost, the cost of launch and retrieval, the maintenance cost during the life of the device and finally the system efficiency or output.
Easily Maintained
Modular and Standard
The WaveEL buoys are built with all components placed in modules that are easily replaced with no need to move the buoy from its moorings. The modular concept reduces service time at sea where the cost of operations is the highest. The module in need of repair is brought to shore where the job can be performed in a dry clean environment.
Q & A
- Q: How many kW will each buoy produce?
- Q: What does it cost to build a wave power system?
- Q: What is W4P's next step?
- Q:WhatistheLCOE?
- Q: Why do you think W4P will succeed where no one else has?
- Q: Why does W4P believe the buoy will survive?
- Q: What development steps does W4P anticipate taking to reduce LCOE?
Why Wave Power
Wave Energy like wind and solar has its origin in the free renewable energy continuously received from the sun. Wave energy however is unique because it is the most concentrated form of renewable energy on earth – with power density much higher than that of wind and solar energy – it is also much more predictable and consistent than wind and solar are. Sea states can be accurately predicted 48 to 72 hours in advance, while accurate wind forecasts rarely are available for more than 5-7 hours.
Waves are created when wind moves over the ocean surface. Even small ripples on the ocean surface gives the wind an opportunity to off load some of its energy on to the waves, causing the waves to grow bigger as the wind is acting over the ocean surface over long distances – the fetch. The longer the fetch and the stronger the wind the bigger the waves. As waves can travel for hundreds and even thousands of kilometers with virtually no loss of energy, they act as an energy reservoir charged by the wind.
The wind in turn is created when the sun heats the surface of the earth unevenly, creating air movement, first vertically when hot air rises up and then horizontal air motion – wind – is created to fill the void from the rising air.
In each step the energy gets more and more concentrated – first when the sun’s rays heat the ground; second the hot ground creates the wind; finally when the wind creates the waves, the converted solar energy reaches its most concentrated state. Along coastlines – particularly on west coasts of continents – if the site is exposed to a long fetch without any land sheltering it, the the wave energy may be several orders of magnitude more concentrated then the initial rays from the sun. It is this stored renewable energy that Waves4Power is harnessing with the WaveEL Buoy.
The Waves4Power system is placed in deep water where the ocean “battery” is fully charged, as the water gets shallow closer to shore the waves power is gradually reduced due to friction in the interaction between the waves and the sea bottom.
The Solution
Waves4Power green energy solutions are based on harvesting the free power of the ocean waves. The power is converted into electricity and distributed to the end user. It’s as simple as that…
The Waves4Power WaveEL system is based on many years of experience, testing, and countless marine service operations. The heart of the wave power system is our point absorber, the WaveEL buoy, where the energy of the waves is converted into electrical power.
The WaveEL buoy – a gigantic pump
- A buoy with a long vertical tube (the acceleration tube) passing through it
- A water piston inside the tube connected to a power conversion system
- A mooring system allowing the buoy free vertical movement while securing it on station
- A dynamic cable connecting the buoy to the connection hub and then via sea cable to the end user
The power generating buoy is a Point Absorber and as such is defined as a device with small horizontal dimensions in relation to the wavelength of the waves from which it is extracting energy. Due to their size, point absorbers are known to survive well in the ocean as they do not fight the waves, but ride them.
The device is best described as a very large pump where two masses are acting against each other. One mass is the buoy itself, including the acceleration tube, and the other is the mass of the water column inside the tube. Due to the difference in natural period for these masses – driven by the waves – they want to oscillate out of phase. By damping the relative movement – forcing them towards the same phase – energy can be captured by the conversion system. There are various sophisticated ways to establish this damping, thus improving the energy output.
WORKING PRINCIPLE OF THE WAVEEL BUOY
The characteristic feature of the WaveEL buoy is the patented long acceleration tube. The tube – which is open at both ends – goes directly through the buoy and extends 30-35 meters below.
As waves rise and lower the buoy with the attached tube, they will move differently – slightly out of phase – with the water column in the tube. By placing a piston in the tube, connected to a hydraulic conversion system, a gigantic pump is created.
Flexibility
The solution W4P offers is very flexible. A minimum depth of 40 meters is required, but the power converting buoys may be moored at essentially any depth or bottom conditions, just like a weather buoy.
Simplicity
Waves4Power focuses on simplicity. An inexpensive solution is created with well-tested components (as much as possible of which are industry standard) that are thoroughly tested with documented characteristics from established, reliable suppliers.
When the buoy is still, the water line inside the tube will be at the same level as the waterline outside the buoy. The tube’s lower opening is at such a depth that there is practically no turbulence from surface waves. Therefore, the water column in the tube is barely affected by ocean wave action.
The buoy/tube unit represents one body of a two-body oscillating system where the other body is the inert water mass present in the acceleration tube.
The conversion system utilizes a hydraulic cylinder as its pump. Its piston rod is connected to a large water piston placed inside the tube. The water piston’s motion relative to the buoy/tube is dampened by applying pressure in the hydraulic system, forcing the water piston to somewhat follow the buoy while pulling the water column along. The dampening force on the water piston needs to be set correctly between the two extremes – A: free floating with no dampening and B: totally locked – to efficiently harvest the wave energy.
A: Without damping of the water piston the buoy/tube unit will move freely while the water mass and water piston essentially stand still. The amplitude of the buoy/tube will be as great as the wave height. In this scenario no energy is captured.
B: If the water piston is locked completely to the buoy/tube it will force the water in the tube to follow the wave induced movement of the buoy/tube unit. The weight of the water mass that is now a part of the moving unit will reduce the speed and the amplitude of the motion of the system, with the same result – as in A, above – that no energy is captured from the waves.
However, between these two extreme conditions energy can be tapped by pressurizing the hydraulic system so that the movement of the water piston is dampened but not locked, thus making the water piston pull the water mass along but not quite being able to keep up with the buoy. The two masses will be moving out of phase, making the hydraulic cylinder act as a gigantic hydraulic pump.
The hydraulic pump is connected to an accumulator feeding a hydraulic motor with a generator. This converts the hydraulic pressure into electric power.
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