Waves are formed by winds blowing over the surface of the ocean. The power in a wave depends on the strength of the wind which creates it, the wind’s duration and its ‘fetch’, the distance over which the wind blows. The strongest winds circle the globe from the West at relatively high latitudes so the regions with the most energetic wave climates are the western coasts of North and South America, Europe, Southern Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Technology to generate energy from waves is being developed by hundreds of companies worldwide. Some of these companies have manufactured and are testing full scale prototypes at test sites such as the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney.
The wave energy technologies which are being developed can be divided into six main device types: attentuators; point absorbers; oscillating wave surge converters (flaps); oscillating water columns; overtopping/terminators and submerged pressure differential devices.
The current cost of these wave energy technologies is very high due to the many different designs which are being tested and their use of bespoke components. Cost must be reduced for the industry to become commercially successful. It is likely that this will be achieved at least in part through consolidation around successful device types and standardisation on generic components. Consolidation and standardisation have played an important role in the development of many other emerging technologies.
Trident Energy’s generic power take-off solution for wave and tidal
PowerPod is a generic power take-off component which provides a simple, low cost and highly reliable alternative to complex hydraulic and mechanical power take-off systems. It can be installed in any device with a linear power capture motion such as point absorbers, oscillating wave surge converters (flaps) and the oscillating hydrofoil type of tidal energy converter.