EWP - Wave Energy Technology for Clean Electricity Generation

In search of the high energy potential available in offshore waves, several wave energy developers have located their systems offshore. However, these systems struggled to commercialize due to:

Resulting from the difficulties experienced by the offshore competitors in the wave energy sector, Eco Wave Power decided to take a different approach by installing its’ systems in the onshore and nearshore environment & attaching it to marine structures, such as breakwaters.

A new study in the wave energy sector supports Eco Wave Power’s approach. For example, in Figure 1, we can see that although the maximum wave power is higher offshore, the exploitable level of power in the offshore and nearshore is practically the same, due to the following:

In deep water, waves can travel in almost any direction, making it difficult to extract energy. As they approach the shore, they turn towards it, so WECs positioned in near-shore locations almost always encounter waves coming from the same direction. This significantly boosts the quantity of energy captured. Furthermore, wave profiles are usually milder closer to shore: maximum wave heights in near-shore areas are closer to average wave heights – implying that WECs in near-shore areas tend to encounter more stable sea states – providing highly exploitable wave energy resources compared to off-shore locations.

A study[1] by the Indian Institute of Technology is also supporting the claim that the best location for energy generation is indeed breakwaters.

A support of such advantages of onshore wave energy can be seen in a recent study by the Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology at Dokuz Eylül University which determines that onshore technologies have significantly higher survivability  and is more cost effective than offshore solutions.[2]

Moreover, Eco Wave Power appeared in a recent study by Dr. Peter Harrop which finds that interest in waterpower is on the rise again as large orders are landed.[3] The new vibrancy primarily concerns avoiding huge infrastructure and putting simpler devices particularly in the sea. At last, marketing led approaches satisfy new needs, particularly in a vast number of cases where cost of electricity is not key. He also mentioned Eco Wave Power in his detailed study as one of the most dominant technology and provides deep technology analysis. In his study, he is forecasting that the market will rise to at least USD 100 billion.

The development of the Eco Wave Power technology began at the Institute of Hydromechanics in Kiev in 2011, with wave tank testing. In December 2011, Eco Wave Power concluded its wave tank testing and received a protocol from the Hydro Mechanic Institute, which stated as follows:

“All the floaters of Eco Wave Power Company have proved their workability… According to the results of the tests, we have reached a decision to recommend continuing the development of the energy generation system that is based on such principles and enlarge the model to larger sizes.”

In April 2012, Eco Wave Power installed the company’s first real conditions power plant on two breakwaters in the Black Sea for the purpose of data collection and stress testing of its unique technology. The Black Sea was chosen to conduct the system’s initial real-condition installation, because it is known for its sudden storms (this is how it got its name), and it was important for EWP to test its technology in severely stormy conditions to prove that its power stations could withstand such storms.

The power plant had combined two different floater shapes; the Wave Clapper and the Power Wing.  The system operated in different wave regimes for a significant period of time, and then was shipped to Israel and installed in Jaffa Port, where it is operational until today.

The company nowadays operates several projects and has an extensive projects pipe line, to be gradually executed. Please find further information in the Projects Tab of our site.