Testing the WET-NZ Wave Energy Converter Using the Ocean Sentinel Instrumentation Buoy

2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 164-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Lettenmaier ◽  
Annette von Jouanne ◽  
Ean Amon ◽  
Sean Moran ◽  
Alister Gardiner

AbstractThis paper describes ocean testing of the half-scale Wave Energy Technology-New Zealand (WET-NZ) prototype wave energy converter (WEC) using the Ocean Sentinel instrumentation buoy during a 6-week deployment period in August‐October 2012. These tests were conducted by the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC) at its Pacific Ocean test site off the coast of Newport, Oregon. The WET-NZ is the product of a research consortium between Callaghan Innovation, a New Zealand Crown Entity, and Power Projects Limited (PPL), a Wellington, New Zealand private company. The Oregon deployment was project managed by Northwest Energy Innovations (NWEI), a Portland, OR firm. NNMREC is a Department of Energy sponsored partnership between Oregon State University (OSU), the University of Washington (UW), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The Ocean Sentinel instrumentation buoy is a 6-m surface buoy, developed in 2012, that provides a stand-alone electrical load, WEC generator control, and data collection for WECs being tested. The Ocean Sentinel was deployed and operated for the first time during the 2012 WET-NZ tests. During these tests, the operation of the WET-NZ was demonstrated and its performance was characterized, while also proving successful deployment and operation of the Ocean Sentinel.

2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette von Jouanne ◽  
Terry Lettenmaier ◽  
Ean Amon ◽  
Ted Brekken ◽  
Reo Phillips

AbstractThis paper presents a novel Ocean Sentinel instrumentation buoy that the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC) has developed with AXYS Technologies for the testing of wave energy converters (WECs). NNMREC is a Department of Energy-sponsored partnership among Oregon State University (OSU), the University of Washington (UW), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The Ocean Sentinel instrumentation buoy is a surface buoy based on the 6-m NOMAD (Navy Oceanographic Meteorological Automatic Device) design. The Ocean Sentinel provides power analysis, data acquisition, and environmental monitoring, as well as an active converter interface to control power dissipation to an onboard electrical load. The WEC being tested and the instrumentation buoy are moored with approximately 125 meters separation; connected by a power and communication umbilical cable. The Ocean Sentinel was completed in 2012 and was deployed for the testing of a WEC at the NNMREC open-ocean test site, north of Newport, OR, during August and September of 2012.


Author(s):  
Takeshi Kamio ◽  
Makoto Iida ◽  
Chuichi Arakawa

The purpose of this study is the numerical simulation and control optimization of a wave energy converter to estimate the power at a test site in the Izu Islands. In Japan, ocean energy is once again being seriously considered; however, since there are many inherent problems due to severe conditions such as the strong swells and large waves, estimations are important when designing such devices. The numerical simulation method in this study combines the wave interaction analysis software WAMIT and an in-house time-domain simulation code using the Newmark-β method, and introduces approximate complex-conjugate control into the code. The optimized parameters were assessed for a regular sine wave and an irregular wave with a typical wave spectrum. With the optimized parameters, average and maximum output power were estimated for the observed wave data at the test site. The results show a more than 100 kW average power output and a several times larger maximum power output.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasiliki Stratigaki

Growing energy demand has increased interest in marine renewable energy resources (i.e., wave energy, which is harvested through wave energy converter (WEC) arrays. However, the wave energy industry is currently at a significant juncture in its development, facing a number of challenges which require that research re-focuses on a holistic techno-economic perspective, where the economics considers the full life cycle costs of the technology. It also requires development of WECs suitable for niche markets, because in Europe there are inequalities regarding wave energy resources, wave energy companies, national programs and investments. As a result, in Europe there are leading and non-leading countries in wave energy technology. The sector also needs to increase confidence of potential investors by reducing (non-)technological risks. This can be achieved through an interdisciplinary approach by involving engineers, economists, environmental scientists, lawyers, regulators and policy experts. Consequently, the wave energy sector needs to receive the necessary attention compared to other more advanced and commercial offshore energy technologies (e.g., offshore wind). The formation of the first open pan-European network with an interdisciplinary approach will contribute to large-scale WEC array deployment by dealing with the current bottlenecks. The WECANet (Wave Energy Converter Array Network) European COST Action, introduced in September 2018 and presented in this paper, aims at a collaborative and inclusive approach, as it provides a strong networking and collaboration platform that also creates the space for dialogue between all stakeholders in wave energy. An important characteristic of the Action is that participation is open to all parties interested and active in the development of wave energy. Previous activities organised by WECANet core group members have resulted in a number of joint European projects and scientific publications. WECANet’s main target is the equal research, training, networking, collaboration and funding opportunities for all researchers and professionals, regardless of age, gender and country in order to obtain understanding of the main challenges governing the development of the wave energy sector.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 490
Author(s):  
Erfan Amini ◽  
Danial Golbaz ◽  
Rojin Asadi ◽  
Mahdieh Nasiri ◽  
Oğuzhan Ceylan ◽  
...  

One of the most encouraging sorts of renewable energy is ocean wave energy. In spite of a large number of investigations in this field during the last decade, wave energy technologies are recognised as neither mature nor broadly commercialised compared to other renewable energy technologies. In this paper, we develop and optimise Power Take-off (PTO) configurations of a well-known wave energy converter (WEC) called a point absorber. This WEC is a fully submerged buoy with three tethers, which was proposed and developed by Carnegie Clean Energy Company in Australia. Optimising the WEC’s PTO parameters is a challenging engineering problem due to the high dimensionality and complexity of the search space. This research compares the performance of five state-of-the-art metaheuristics (including Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy, Gray Wolf optimiser, Harris Hawks optimisation, and Grasshopper Optimisation Algorithm) based on the real wave scenario in Sydney sea state. The experimental achievements show that the Multiverse optimisation (MVO) algorithm performs better than the other metaheuristics applied in this work.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 91-96
Author(s):  
Patrick Cross ◽  
Krishnakumar Rajagopalan

AbstractA synopsis of wave energy converter (WEC) deployments at the U.S. Navy's Wave Energy Test Site (WETS), from the mid-2015 commissioning of the full three-berth site through 2019, is provided. This includes two deployments each of the Northwest Energy Innovations (NWEI) Azura device and the Fred. Olsen Ltd. BOLT Lifesaver, each with important modifications between deployments. The Azura was modified with a larger float and a heave plate, aimed at enhancing power performance, while the Lifesaver's second deployment addressed mooring challenges encountered in the first. Additionally, unique integration and deployment of a sophisticated environmental sensing system developed by the University of Washington, in which required power was drawn from the WEC itself, was achieved during this second Lifesaver deployment. A brief background of the site is included, as is a synopsis of two major efforts not directly related to WEC deployments—the development of a site-dedicated support vessel and work to redesign and make repairs to the WETS deep berth mooring systems, including the addition of a “no-WEC hawser” system to keep the moorings in tension between WEC deployments. Finally, a look ahead to WEC deployments planned in 2021‐2023 is provided.


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