Development
Limited
Competitive Analysis
Several companies are developing wave energy harvesting technologies. They employ differing techniques for converting wave motion into energy. There are two fundamental approaches: in the first case, elaborate structures are built on the shore to capture the energy of breaking waves. This method is unlikely to be implemented on a large scale, as it requires building industrial facilities on long stretches of coastline.
The other approach is open-ocean devises moored to the bottom that capture the energy from waves. There are several of these approaches, from Ocean Power Delivery Ltd, an undulating steel eel, called Pelamis, that generates electrical power on board, to WaveGen with its Osprey, a pre-fabricated steel caisson design which sank in 1995, to the star-wars like oscillating pods driving linear motors of the Ocean Wave Energy Converter. The field is covered and reviewed in many online sources, so we will discuss the competition only in general terms.
The fundamental design question for a wave energy harvesting appliance is: How can it meet all the challenges of an unpredictable environment and keep the cost per kWh as close to the penny as possible?
The fundamental design question for a wave energy harvesting appliance is: How can it meet all the challenges of an unpredictable environment and keep the cost per kWh as close to the penny as possible?
The devices that have advanced to demonstrations are all “wave-to-wire” design, in that they generate electricity on board. This approach saddles their designers with many problems the Waveberg avoids. For example, they have to have dry spaces inside for generation of power. Each device has to contain a small generator; in the case of the Wavebob, each buoy contains four alternators mechanically linked to the moving part.
Complicated, expensive devices do not fit well into the ocean to begin with, since the environment is corrosive, full of sea life that attaches to surfaces. Maintenance is very expensive, especially if divers are required. Moreover, because they are expensive, these devices must harvest a significant fraction of the wave energy to be cost-effective. Therefore, they must resist the wave, leading to high stresses during storms.
The illustrations included here link to their respective webpages.
For lists of companies and ocean power technologies visit: Wikipedia: Wave power or Peswiki Directory:Ocean_Wave_Energy
“Waveberg Development plans to demonstrate both the economic feasibility of wave energy harvesting — something no one has yet accomplished — and the superiority of its technology, including its benign environmental effects.”
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