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ElectricityfromOceanWaveEnergy:Technologies,OpportunitiesandChallenges

ElectricityfromOceanWaveEnergy:
Technologies,OpportunitiesandChallenges
WrittenbyShalineeKishore,LawrenceSnyderandParthPradhan
Theenergyfromoceanwavesisalargelyuntappedresourcethatcouldplayanimportantroleinourelectricityfuture.Itis
moreconsistentandpredictablethanthatofotherrenewableresourcessuchaswindandsolar.Althoughseveralpilot
projectshavebeensuccessfullydeployedworldwide,andsomeofthemaregridconnected,theeconomicproductionof
electricpowerfromwaveenergyremainstobedemonstrated.Akeypathforwardwillbetheintegrationofsmart
technologiesthatharnessvastamountsofsensorandmeteorologicaldatatosupportwavefarmoperations.
Withestimatesofeconomicallyrecoverablewaveenergyresourcesrangingfrom140to750TWh/yearworldwidewith
existingtechnology,energyfromoceanwavesisalargelyuntappedresourcethatcouldplayanimportantroleinour
electricityfuture.Itismoreconsistentandpredictablethanotherrenewableresourceslikewindandsolar.Whatismore,
themaximumenergydensityofwaves(between40and60degreeslatitude)isfoundinbothhemisphereswherethe
advancedindustrialeconomiesofEurope,theUnitedStatesandJapanreside.
Akeybarriertomakingwaveenergyareality,however,iscost.Accordingtocurrentestimates,thelevelizedcostperMWh
ofwaveenergyproductionismorethan1.5timesthatofwindandnearlythreetimesthatofcoalbasedpower.

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Waveenergyismoreexpensivethanwindenergyinpartbecausewaveenergyconversionisinamuchearlier
developmentphase.Lookingforward,thisbarrierwillhavetobeovercomeforwaveenergyproductiontoreachitsfull
potential.Akeytoreducingcostswillbepredictingthecharacteristicsofwaves,whichcanbereliablydetermineddaysin
advance.Thispredictabilitywillgivewaveenergyproducerswithlowoperationalcostsandanonpollutingtechnology
attractivemarketopportunitiesinthenearfuture.
Manydifferenttechniqueshavealreadybeenproposedandtestedforbothonshore,nearshoreandoffshorewave
energyextraction.Theprocessofenergygenerationatawaveenergyconverter(WEC)consistsofanumberofsteps,
whichincludeenergyabsorptionfromoceanwavesbyatypeofenergycapturemechanism,transmissionofmechanical
powertothegeneratorbyapowertakeoffmechanismandcontrollingpoweroutputbymeansofsuitablepower
electronicsorarraysofsimilarWECs,orboth.
MostcurrentresearchanddevelopmenteffortsarefocusedonimprovingthemechanicaldesignsofWECsenergycapture
andpowertakeoffmechanisms.WECscanbecategorizedbroadlyintofourgroupsbasedontheirunderlyingoperating
principle:
Oscillatingwatercolumns(OWCs)consistofapartiallysubmergedchamberthatcontainsbothawatercolumnformed
bytheingressionofoceanwavesandanaircolumnformedbythetrappedair.Aturbinelocatedatthetopofthe
chamberexperiencestheexpansionandcontractionoftheaircolumnasoceanwavescontinuouslychangethewater
levelswithinthechamber.TheLIMPETwaveenergyprojectneartheScottishislandofIslayandtheOceanlinxPort
MacDonnellproject,soontobedeployedinSouthAustralia,areexamplesofoscillatingwatercolumns.TheLIMPET
plantemploysafullscaleonshoreOWCwithatotalinstalledcapacityof500KW.Thisgridconnectedprojectis
coordinatedbyQueensUniversityBelfastandsupportedbytheEuropeanUnionundertheJouleIIIProgramme.The
planthasbeenservingthelocaleconomysinceearly2000.Morerecently,theAustraliancompanyOceanlinxreceived
closeto$4millioninfundingfromtheAustralianCentreforRenewableEnergytodeploya1MWcommercialscale
OWC,whichwillbeaconcreteboxlikestructurelocated4kmoffthecoastlinefromPortMacDonnell.Gridconnection
isexpectedinlate2013,atwhichpointitisanticipatedthatthedeploymentmayserveupto1,000households.
Overtoppingdevicesharnessenergyfromincomingwavesbycapturingwaterinacentralreservoirandreleasingit
backtotheseathroughanumberofhydroelectricturbines.AnexampleistheWaveDragonprojectinDenmark.Over
thepastdecade,DenmarkhashostedsmallerscaleWaveDragonprojects.Forexample,in2003a1:4.5scale
prototypewasdeployedinNissumBredninginNorthernDenmark.Resultsfromtheseearlierdeploymentshaveledto
thelatestcommercialsizedeploymentofa1.5MWplant,whichwilloccurattheDanishWaveEnergyCenter,
DanWEC,atHanstholmnintheDanishpartoftheNorthSea.A4MWplantistofollowatEkofiskintheNorthSea,with
thelongertermgoalofinstallingafullyfledgedpowerplantof411MWwithaproductionpriceof0.04/kWh(~5.33
U.S.cents/kWh).
Attenuatorsaretypicallylong,multisegmentfloatingdevicesthatarepositionedinthedirectionofincomingwaves.
Thesegmentsflexandmoveathingedjointsaswavespassalong,andthemechanicalmotionoftheflexingis
convertedtoelectricalenergy.Theforemostexample,thePelamisdevicedevelopedbytheScottishcompany

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ElectricityfromOceanWaveEnergy:Technologies,OpportunitiesandChallengesIEEESmartGrid
PelamisWavePower,hasbeendeployedinavarietyoflocationsintheUKandinPortugal.Pelamiswastheworld's
firstoffshorewaveenergyconvertertobegridconnected,in2004,andsuppliedelectricityfromthefirstmultiple
machinewavefarmatAgucadoura,Portugaltothecountry'sEnersisin2008.Currentlythecompanyisworkingwith
partnerstobuilda10MWprojectofftheShetlandIslandsusingmultiplecurrentgenerationPelamisdevices.The
companyScottishPowerRenewablesandtheutilityE.ONaretestingPelamisdevicesinOrkneycurrentlytheformer
planstoinstall66suchdevicesfora50MWfacilityoffMarwickHeadinOrkney.PelamisWavePowerhasinitiated
developmentoftheFarrPointWaveFarm,forwhichtheyhaveobtainedaseabedleasetodevelopa15MWfarmthat
couldeventuallybeexpandedto50MW.
Pointabsorbersareoscillatingbodiesthatabsorbenergyfromwavescomingfromalldirectionsbutwhoseoutput
powerissmallduetotheirsmallsize.Anarrayofsuchdevicesisrequiredtodeliversubstantialpowertothegrid.
SeveralpilotprojectshaveutilizedpointabsorberWECs,includingthePowerBuoy,developedbyOceanPower
Technologies,acompanywithofficesintheUK,AustraliaandtheUnitedStates.ThePowerBuoywillbeinstalledoff
thecoastofReedsport,Oregonthisspring,makingitthefirstcommercialwavepowerstationinNorthAmerica.The
initialdeploymentofone150KWbuoywillbeextendedtoupto10buoys,fora1.5MWpowerstation.Current
estimatesarethatitwillgenerate4,140MWh/year,orenoughtopower375homes.ThePowerBuoyhasalreadybeen
testedinScotland,SpainandHawaii,andfuturelargescaleprojectsareunderwayforPortland,Australia,Cornwall,
UKandCoosBay,Oregon.
Anumberofthesetechnologieshavethepotentialtoscaleuptolargepowerprojectsservinghundredsofthousandsof
homesandpossiblyindustriesalongthecoast.Butwavepower,likeotherformsofrenewableenergy,willbeadistributed
resourceandproducefluctuatingpower.Assuch,ittoowillrequiresmartelectricitygridsupportforreliablepowerdelivery.
Justaslargescalewindfarmsarecomingunderthepurviewofthesmartgrid,requiringinformationmodelsforthecontrol
andmonitoringofpowerinjection,wavepowerwillhavetoreceivethesameattentionintheverynearfuture.
Butbecauseoceanwavesaremorepredictablethanwindsandsolarreception,waveenergyrepresentssomewhatlesser
challengestosmartgridoperations.Forthesamereason,waveenergymaybeexploitableinasomewhatgreaterrangeof
gridapplications,forexample,voltageregulation.
Howcanweintegratepredictionsofwavecharacteristicsinmakingelectricalcontroldecisions?Inmanytestsites
DanWECatNissumBredningandWaveHub,intheUK,forexampleunderwaterelectricalinfrastructurehasbeenbuilt
withsubstations,transformersandswitchgear,toevacuatepowerfromWECsinafarmandbringittoshore.Equipment
choiceandratingsinpartdeterminethereliabilityoftheelectricalpowerproduced,butthequalityandquantityofpower
outputheavilydependonhowwellinformedeachWECisaboutthenatureofincomingwaves.
Tags:wavefarmconfiguration,oceanwaveenergy,sensormeasurements,pilotprojects,waveenergyconverters,
datagatheringinfrastructure

Contributor
ShalineeKishoreisanassociateprofessorintheDepartmentofElectricalandComputerEngineeringat
LehighUniversityinBethlehem,Pa.Sheobtaineddoctoralandmaster'sdegreesinelectricalengineeringfrom
PrincetonUniversityin2003and2001,andanM.S.andB.S.inelectricalengineeringfromRutgersUniversity
in1999and1996.
Readmore

LarrySnyderisanassociateprofessorofindustrialandsystemsengineeringatLehighUniversityin
Bethlehem,Pa.HereceivedhisPh.D.inindustrialengineeringandmanagementsciencesfromNorthwestern
University.
Readmore

ParthPradhanobtainedhisB.TechdegreeinelectronicsandinstrumentationengineeringfromtheNational
InstituteofTechnology,Rourkela,India.Heiscurrentlypursuingamaster'sdegreeinengineeringinthe
energysystemsdepartmentatLehighUniversity,inBethlehem,Pa.
Readmore

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