Development
Limited
Waveberg Technology
After twenty-five years of research, inventor John Berg, has demonstrated an efficient, long-lasting solution: the Waveberg. A scale model Waveberg survived several Northeasterly storms off the coast of Nova Scotia; the immense waves boosted its power output and caused no damage. The National Research Council of Canada tested this model generator in its research tanks and confirmed the power output levels, as well as survival under extreme storm conditions. A large-scale prototype survived a destructive storm off the Florida coast in 1997; the same storm flattened seaside houses.
The Waveberg is an articulated set of connected floats that flex as the waves pass under them, using this bending motion to pump seawater. The resulting high-pressure water is brought ashore through piping from the Waveberg and can be translated into power on shore. Engineered plastic pipe and fiberglass are the main materials, since they are durable, corrosion-resistant, low-cost, and easy to fabricate.
Waves, water flow and power generation are well-understood disciplines. There is nothing revolutionary or speculative about Waveberg technology. Plastics and fiberglass building methods dominate boating, hydroelectric power supplies 5% of the US electricity market, and NOAA has detailed records of wave activity for many years in many oceans. Improvements are tested on scale models before full-size prototypes are field-tested. The conclusions used here are based on data from the model tests of the Waveberg in 2007 in Cork, Ireland and in 1991 at the NRC tanks in Newfoundland. The data was analyzed in a very conservative way; the analysis is available for inspection.
A small full-scale Waveberg will generate more than 100 kW of power under normal conditions. It will be more than 50 meters long and cost $250,000 to build in a factory. During routine operation, 24 hours per day, day in and day out, it generates the energy equivalent of two barrels of oil a day. Wavebergs will typically be installed in arrays to provide the aggregate power required at the site.
The $2,300 per kW cost of the Waveberg energy harvester itself does not reflect the costs of the shore facilities, including the piping to shore, powerhouse, turbine, generator and interconnect to the power grid. Our costing study projects that costs for the hydroelectric plant, moorings, navigation aids, piping, land and installation costs will run $900 to $1,500 per KW, based on location, which brings total capital costs for electrical generation to from $2,000 to 3,300 per kW, depending on the size of the project and location. Wind turbines cost a little more and only operate 30% of the time; a wave harvester can generate power 60% of the time, making the projected cost per kW-hour half of wind power, or about $0.045 to 0.060 per kW-hour.
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