Wave Energy(Ocean Energy)

Dr.Basudev Pradhan
Among other types of renewable energy,
oceans contain energy in the form of
◦ Waves
◦ Tidal currents
Where does wave energy originate?
◦ Differential warming of the earth causes pressure
differences in the atmosphere, which generate winds
◦ As winds move across the surface of open bodies of
water, they transfer some of their energy to the water
and create waves
} 3 main processes give rise to wave formation
and growth:
1. Air flowing over the seas exerts a tangential stress on the
water surface
2. Turbulent air close to the water surface creates rapidly
varying shear stresses and pressure fluctuations. Where
these processes are in-phase with existing waves,
further wave development occurs
3. When waves have reached a certain size, the wind can
exert a stronger force on the up-wind face of the wave,
causing additional growth
Source of Ocean Wave Energy
} Storm Waves
◦ Waves located close to the location where they
were generated
◦ Form complex irregular sea
} Swell Waves
◦ Waves can travel a great distance with minimum
loss of energy to produce a swell
} Wave size depends on:
◦ Wind speed
◦ Duration
◦ Fetch
 Wave direction
Wave
Surface
Tangent mrw2

Resultant F F

mg

Water surface perpendicular to resultant of gravitation and centrifugal

Forces acting on an element of water of mass m

a H

w
Wave Motion

Wave Characteristics
a
 Wave direction x
s
g Resultant
acceleration
aw2
g
s
Ф
aw2

aw2 sinώ

Note: force due to gravity = mg, centrifugal force = maw2

The amount of energy transferred and the
size of the resulting wave depend on
◦ the wind speed
◦ the length of time for which the wind blows
◦ the distance over which the wind blows, or fetch

Therefore, coasts that have exposure to the

prevailing wind direction and that face long
expanses of open ocean have the greatest
wave energy levels.
 How much energy and what types?
-250 Billion barrels of oil worth of energy coming into ocean every day

-80 million barrels of oil per day produced

kinetic

potential
} IEA (International
Energy Association)
estimates that there is
a potential to generate
1500TWh per year
(10% of global demand)
from wave power
} No commercial wave
farms yet exist but
there are several beta
installments
European Wave Energy Atlas, Average
Theoretical Wave Power (kW))
} Estimated power of
Atlantic coastline is
40kW per meter of
exposed coastline
} Highest energy points
are Northwest Mayo,
West Galway, West
Cork, Kerry
} Trade-off between the
available energy (which
increases with distance
from land), and
practicalities of
harnessing and
connecting to grid

http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/withouthotair/c12/page_73.shtml
The strongest
winds blow
between 30˚
and 60˚ in
latitude.

Western
coastlines at
these latitudes
experience the
most powerful
waves.

Global Wave Energy Resource Distribution

(measuring the amount of power in kW contained in each linear
meter of wave front)
In order to extract this energy, wave energy
conversion devices must create a system of
reacting forces, in which two or more
bodies move relative to each other, while at
least one body interacts with the waves.

There are many ways that such a system

could be configured.
• Wave devices characterized by:
– Locations:
•Shoreline: tethered in intermediate depths
•Nearshore: fixed to the seabed in shallow water
•Offshore: more difficult to construct and maintain than shoreline but greatest
potential as waves in deep water have greater energy content
– Method used to capture the energy (fixed, tethered, floating devices):
1- Buoy moored to the seabed 2- Oscillating Water Column (OWC): can be fixed to the seabed
or installed on the shoreline; simple and robust

3- Floating device for offshore: use motion of waves; leading

technology currently
Pelamis WEC: leading wave power technology
• 4 semi submerged cylindrical sections facing nose
on towards the incoming waves and which flex and
bend as waves pass > this motion is used to generate
electricity
• world’s first commercial wave farm to generate
electricity in Portugal opened in 2008:
Ø 3 Pelamis machines with capacity of 2.25 MW (750
kW per snake); cost of 8.5 m € to deploy; project
suspended in 2009
• in Scotland: plan to install the world’s largest wave Source: Pelamis Wave Power 2009
http://www.pelamiswave.com/content.p
farm : 3MW capacity; 4 Pelamis machines; costs 4 £m hp?id=161

Ø Many devices and new technologies in emergence

Ø But they are not technically at the industrial production stage > just pilot
projects and prototypes
Ø Wave energy is currently in the early stage of commercialisation and it
is not yet a widely employed commercial technology
An Oscillating Water Column (OWC) consists
of a partially submerged structure that
opens to the ocean below the water surface.
This structure is called a wave collector.

This design creates a water column in the

central chamber of the collector, with a
volume of air trapped above it.
} As a wave enters the
collector, the surface of
the water column rises
and compresses the
volume of air above it.
} The compressed air is
forced into an aperture at
the top of the chamber,
moving past a turbine.
} As the wave retreats, the
air is drawn back through
the turbine due to the
reduced pressure in the
chamber.
The type of turbine used is a key element to
the conversion efficiency of an OWC.

Traditional turbines function by gas or liquid

flowing in one direction and at a constant
velocity. When the flow is not always from
the same direction or at a constant velocity
– such as in the OWC – traditional turbines
become ineffective.
Different types of turbines have been
developed for the OWC to address this
problem.

The technologies have been demonstrated to

work in a number of locations, with varying
degrees of efficiency.
◦ Wavegen’s LIMPET
◦ Energetech’s Australia Wave Energy System
Oscillating Water Column Installations: LAND

NOTE: Plant Bowen (Georgia Power) operates at 3,200,000 kW

Oscillating Water Column Installations: OCEAN
Pictured here is the
LIMPET (Land Installed
Marine Powered Energy
Transformer), an
Oscillating Water
Column located on the
Isle of Islay, Scotland,
and designed by
Wavegen
Constructed in a man-
made gully on a rocky
shoreline facing the
open Atlantic ocean
 To overcome the problems of
traditional turbines, LIMPET
employs a Wells turbine that
turns in the same direction
irrespective of the airflow
direction.
} The collector was divided into
3 chambers, with large holes
at the top of each dividing
wall to allow the air above the
3 water columns to combine
to feed the turbine-
generation system
} This design optimized
performance for annual
average wave intensities of
15 – 25 kW/m
} The system contains a pair of Wells
turbines, each of which is connected to a
250 kW induction generator
} LIMPET has a generation capacity of 500 kW
} Designed to supply power into the Islay grid
In spite of the success of this technology in
an on-shore application, most wave energy
experts agree that off-shore or near-shore
devices offer greater potential than
shoreline devices.
 Point Oscillating Water Column
Absorber (Energetech/Oceanlinx)
(OPT,
Finavera)

Attenuator, Pelamis WP Overtopping, Wave Dragon

Point absorber buoys: most common
 capacity = 150 kW

Ocean Power Technology buoy, Oregon power 50 homes. Federal permit obtained for
grid-connection.
“Overtopping” Wave Energy
 “Sea Snake” Wave Energy

121m long, 3.5m tall!

 Advantages Disadvantages
} Easier to access for } Limited number of
construction and suitable sites / high
maintenance competition for use of
} Less installment costs the shoreline
and grid connection } Environmental
charges concerns for on-shore
} Could be incorporated devices may be greater
into harbor walls or } Much less energy
water breaks, available to on-shore
performing a dual devices because water
service for the depth usually
community decreases closer to the
shore
Pictured here the
Australia Wave Energy
System, an Oscillating
Water Column located
off the coast of Port
Kembla, New South
Wales, Australia and
designed by
Energetech
} Located 200 meters from the Port Kembla Harbour
Breakwater
} Typically waves at Port
Kembla exceed 1m in
height 63% of the time
(producing greater than
110kW on those occasions)
and exceed 2m in height
5.5% of the time
(producing greater than
400 kW on those occasions).
} Designed to generate 500 kW, enough to
power 500 homes
} The system uses a variable pitch turbine
called a Denniss-Auld turbine, potentially
with a higher conversion efficiency than the
Wells turbine
} The turbine drives an induction generator
} The device employs a parabolic wall to
focus the wave energy into the collector
◦ The ends of the wave plane are reflected by the
parabolic wall and converge on the focus of the
parabola
◦ At the focus, the water will rise and fall with an
amplitude of approximately 3 times that of the
incoming waves
◦ The center of the collector sits at the focus of the
parabolic wall
◦ The plant also includes a small desalination unit
that can produce nearly 2000 liters of fresh
drinkable water per day using nothing but the
seawater and wave energy.
Because wave energy technologies are so new, so
numerous, and so diverse, they raise many
questions for the agencies that manage the natural
resources in which these devices would be
deployed.

Many of the environmental impact questions that

must be addressed in order to permit even a
prototype cannot be answered without deploying
the device and monitoring the impacts.
Some environmental impacts that must be
considered when permitting a wave energy
conversion device:
◦ Disturbance or destruction of marine life
◦ Threat to navigation or transportation from
collisions due to the low profile of some wave
energy devices above the water
◦ Degradation of scenic ocean front views from
wave energy devices near or on the shore
◦ Disturbance of recreation in near-shore
environments
◦ Alteration of sediment patterns
The difficulty in assessing these
environmental considerations for wave
energy technologies contribute to the high
costs in carrying out environmental impact
assessments and obtaining permits and
licenses, even for prototypes.

The complexity, cost, and uncertainty of the

regulatory process are preventing the full
potential of technology development from
being realized.
} Constraints:
– Most turbines require a constant, powerful flow > waves are irregular
in both direction and power
– Storms damages and corrosive power of saltwater
– Devices still complicated at mechanic level and engineering
difficulties
– Maintenance of devices expensive
– Problem of lose during conversion from mechanical energy to
electricity
} Advantages:
– Wave energy is environmentally friendly (low noise, low visual impact,
no impact for fish like tidal energy) > commercial and political
attractiveness
– Wave power provides the highest kW intensity per m2
– Wave available 4000 hours per year (more than wind)
} There is a large supply of wave energy
available
} The technology already exists for extraction
of this energy
} The technical challenges are solvable
} The problems lie in facilitating the testing
and development of the technology to make
it more affordable
◦ Need federal funding
◦ Need a regulatory process conducive for rapid
deployment of prototypes and research
equipment
Thank You!