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Ocean Renewable Energy

Companies Involved in Ocean Energy Technologies

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12909 Scarlet Oak Drive ♦ Darnestown, Maryland 20878

(301) 869-3790



Contents:

• AquaEnergy

• Archimedes WaveSwing

• Blue Energy Canada

• Energetech Australia

• Float Incorporated

• Hydam Technology Ltd

• Independent Natural Resources

• Marine Development Associates Inc.

• Ocean Motion International

• Ocean Power Delivery Ltd.

• Ocean Power Technologies

• Ocean Renewable Power Company

• Ocean Wave Energy Company

• OreCON Ltd.

• Sea Power International AB

• S.D.E. Ltd., Sea Wave Power Plants

• Verdant Power

• WaveEnergy (Denmark)

• WaveDragon ApS

• WaveGen

• WavePlane International A/S

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[pic][pic][pic] IPS Buoy The Aqua Buoy Technocean Hosepump

 

System Configurations

An AquaEnergy power plant consists of a number of offshore wave energy converters, called AquaBuOYs, and a corresponding land station, housing equipment necessary for grid interconnect. A plant's capacity is scalable, ranging from tens of kilowatts to hundreds of megawatts, by simply combining individual AquaBuOYs into a system for a desired power output.

AquaBuOYs are moored-buoy devices that transform the vertical component of kinetic energy from the oncoming ocean waves into electrical energy. They are placed in suitable measured locations, up to several miles offshore, where water depth is between 150 to 250 feet. The individual size of the AquaBuOYs are designed according to the energy content of the prevailing seas at a particular installation site.

Our power plants are survivable and environmentally-friendly because they are based on proven buoy technology -- individual, small, non-polluting, modular devices located offshore require no sensitive shore real estate.

Patents on various parts of the system have been issued in major markets, including the US, Europe, Japan, and Australia.

Energy Converter

|Omnidirectional |[pic] |

|50% - 175% bandpass | |

|Active seasonal tuning | |

|Blow-out protection | |

|Elegant, simple design | |

|2 opposing, full-cycle, | |

|2-stroke hose pumps | |

|Output high-pressure seawater | |

Buoy Design Advantages

• Patented ocean tested technology with high efficiency factors

• System modularity and scalability

• Reduced technology risk by using tried and true components and subsystems

• Short time-to-market; within 12 months after permits are issued

• Negligible environmental impact

AWS Archimedes Wave Swing



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AWS wave energy converter

The AWS is a unique concept. It is the only wave energy converter that is fully submerged. Although its construction is simple (only one moving part), the way it works is not so easy to understand.

The AWS consists of two cylinders. The lower cylinder is fixed to the bottom while the upper cylinder, also called floater, moves up and down under the influence of waves. Simultaneously magnets, which are fixed to the upper cylinder, move along a coil. As a result, the motion of the floater is damped and electricity is made. Magnets and coil are part of a linear generator.

  

The interior of the AWS is filled with air, which plays an important role in system. It works as a cushion. When the upper cylinder moves downwards, the air inside is pressurized. As a result a counteracting force is created which forces the upper cylinder to move up again. If the amount of air is chosen correctly, the motion of the cylinder is amplified. For long waves amplification can be up to three times the wave elevation, while this is even more for short waves.

  

Amplification can be compared with the effect of a swing. If one pushes the swing at the right moment, motion will be amplified. The same happens with the floater; if the force of the waves pushes the AWS at the right moment, its motion is amplified more and more.

Blue Energy



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The Blue Energy Ocean Turbine acts as a highly efficient underwater vertical-axis windmill. Sea water is 832 times denser than air and a non-compressible medium, an 8 knot tidal current is the equivalent of a 390 km/hr wind. Developed by veteran aerospace engineer Barry Davis, the vertical-axis turbine represents two decades of Canadian research and development. Four fixed hydrofoil blades of the Blue Energy Ocean Turbine are connected to a rotor that drives an integrated gearbox and electrical generator assembly. The turbine is mounted in a durable concrete marine caisson, which anchors the unit to the ocean floor, directs flow through the turbine further concentrating the resource supporting the coupler, gearbox, and generator above it. These sit above the surface of the water and are readily accessible for maintenance and repair. The hydrofoil blades employ a hydrodynamic lift principal that causes the turbine foils to move proportionately faster than the speed of the surrounding water. Computer optimized cross-flow design ensure that the rotation of the turbine is unidirectional on both the ebb and the flow of the tide.

Midrange Power System - Blue Energy is preparing to install a 500kW ocean energy system. Using two 250kW Blue Energy ocean turbines, this unit will be off grid competitive initially ,and in three to four years time be grid competitive. Suitable for use in remote communities, industrial sites, and resorts in regions with net metering policies or dependence on costly and polluting diesel generation.

Micro Power System - This is a 5 to 25kW assembly to service the remote domestic consumer.

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Ocean waves contain enormous amounts of energy, but the energy in each crest is generally spread out along it. If all the energy could be transported to one point it could be harnessed far more readily.

It is possible to focus all the energy of a plane surface gravity wave crest, the type you see breaking on the beach, on to a single point using a parabolic wave focusser. The section of the wave is reflected by a parabolic wall and converges on the focus of the parabola. As the wave converges, the crest height grows to a maximum in the focus area. Atop the focal region is a chamber that extends deeper than any likely wave trough. The oscillatory wave motion causes a similar oscillatory airflow through the chamber.

At the narrowest point of the chamber, the airflow accelerates and a revolutionary turbine, outlined later, converts the energy in the airflow into mechanical energy which drives an electrical generator. The parabolic wall, chamber and turbine are the essence of the Energetech Australia Wave Energy System.

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Offshore airports, oil and gas production facilities, floating Islands, mobile offshore military bases, additional real estate for coastal cities, floating harbors, floating breakwaters, are just some of the possible uses of this new technology.

The PSP has a number of important features:

• It uses air movement to reduce wave loads and distribute them throughout the platform

• It extracts energy from ocean waves that can be used to make electricity.

• It attenuates the waves leaving a calm surface that permits adjacent ship berthing.

• It has a relatively shallow draft and low adjustable freeboard.

Compared to most large open-ocean platforms:

• It has a significantly greater deck load capacity.

• It is less costly to build and maintain.

• Its performance improves with size.

How It Works:

Most conventional floating platforms acquire their floatation forces by directly displacing the water with their hulls. A pneumatic floating platform utilizes indirect displacement, in which the platform rests on trapped air that displaces the water. The primary buoyancy force is provided by air pressure acting on the underside of the deck.

The PSP is a distinct type of pneumatic platform, one in which the platform is composed of a number of cylindrical shaped components packed together in a rectangular pattern to form a module. Each cylinder is sealed at the top, open to the ocean at its base, and contains air at a pressure slightly above atmospheric pressure. Modules can be of a size that are relatively easy to manipulate, as shown in the simplified drawing below.

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Another aspect of the PSP design is that, when needed, air is allowed to flow from a cylinder to its neighbors through a manifold or connecting orifices. The airflow provides a mechanism to help reduce the peaks in the pressure distribution beneath the structure and provide platform stability as well as a mechanism for dissipating wave energy. Directing the moving air through turbo-generators to produce electrical energy is one means of converting wave energy into electricity with a PSP. More recently, a new collector has been designed specifically for use with a PSP that is expected to significantly increase the percentage of wave energy converted to air. See the "Wave Energy" page.

An assembly of cylinders results in enclosed interstitial regions between cylinders, which may be filled with air, foam or other material. These regions are isolated from the air pockets within the cylinders to provide additional buoyancy and righting moment. As long as design loads are not exceeded, this important feature enables the PSP to endure catastrophic air pressure loss In comparison to conventional floating platforms, the designers of a pneumatic platform can modify the distribution of the flotation force as needed to minimize the hogging moment or in response to large concentrated loads on the deck. Further, it is possible, for a particular sea state, to tune the oscillation of the water columns inside the cylinders to minimize the overall hydrodynamic loading to which the platform is subjected.

This brings up the fact that the PSP, as with other floating platforms, is sensitive to its environment in form and function, and must be designed taking that into consideration. There is not a "one size fits all" PSP. However, that said, they can be segregated in two broad categories, open ocean platforms, and protected water platforms. These differ markedly in component size and complexity.

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[pic] The SEADOG™ Pump

The SEADOG™ pump is a "point absorbing" wave energy converter that primarily uses buoyancy as a means of converting wave energy to mechanical energy by utilizing a moving volume of water to pump gas, liquid and combinations thereof.  The mechanical energy generated by the pump can be converted to electricity or used for purposes of providing potable water, aquaculture habitats, and pressurized air for multiple applications such as cooling and running turbines or equipment.

The main components of the SEADOG™ pump include a buoyancy chamber, buoyancy block, piston assembly, piston shaft, piston cylinder and intake and exhaust valves. As the SEADOG™ pump is positioned in the water, the buoyancy block (filled with air) floats within the buoyancy chamber, moving up and down in relation to ocean waves and tides.  The buoyancy block is connected to the piston shaft, which in turn moves the piston assembly through the piston cylinder.  As the buoyancy block floats down in the trough of a wave, it draws the piston downward through the piston cylinder.

This downward movement draws water or air (depending on the type of application a particular SEADOG™ pump site is designed for) into the piston cylinder through the intake valve.  (For purposes of this explanation we will continue using water being drawn into the piston cylinder as our medium.)  Water drawn through the intake valve fills the piston cylinder chamber.  As the next wave lifts the buoyancy block, the water is compressed within the piston cylinder and expelled through the exhaust valve.  One cycle of the buoyancy block rising and falling to draw in and expel water is called a "stroke".  Each stroke of the piston causes the water to be pumped from the piston cylinder in a regular manner.  As the SEADOG™ pump continues to pump in tandem with other SEADOG™ pumps, a predictable flow of water can be expected.  Ultimately, water is pumped to an elevated reservoir (see Section B.4), and then released to flow down from the elevated reservoir to drive a turbine that generates electrical power.

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With the world-wide concerns over Global Warming, many developing nations are seeking to assess and utilize their Ocean Energy resources. MDA has maintained a significant capability in Ocean Thermal, Wave and Tidal energy assessment and potential utilization. Typical projects

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|[pic] "Soft Pipe" - A low-cost CWP Development |

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|[pic] Demi-OTEC Demonstration Power Plant |

|Feasibility - Stage of Hawaii |

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|[pic] Project RATAK - 5-10 MWe OTEC for the |

|Government of the Marshall Islands |

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|[pic] OTEC Development Plan Review for the |

|Government of Taiwan. |

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|[pic] Ocean Energy Technology & Economics |

|Assessment for the Philippine Government |

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|[pic] MDA's Island Nation's OTEC Program |

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|[pic] Opportunity with International OTEC Corp. |

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 MDA personnel possess an OTEC technology &    system development & management background extending over 23 years, including the very highly successful Mini-OTEC demonstration Program, and the "Soft-Pipe" low-cost CWP development. An aggressive OTEC commercialization Program is currently underway. Additional information is available for potential Investors.

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The OMI system functions by using a large buoyant vessel which rides on the wave surface.  When a trough passes beneath the vessel and the vessel is no longer supported, it allows a heavy ballast mass to descend and pressurize the water in a simple sleeve type pump.  The pressurized water is driven up through a cavity in the main shaft into the manifold which combines multiple pump assemblies.  The combined pump outputs efficiently drive the hydro-turbine generator, osmosis filters and electrolysis unit. 

The pump assemblies are housed in a modified version of a modular offshore drilling unit.  The barge type vessel contains from 20 to 35 pumps with diameters ranging from 12 to 36 inches dependent on the average wave conditions.  The unit which we call a farm has two hulls, the bottom one is flooded and descends to the ocean floor becoming the footing / sand-bed pre-filter and the upper hull has a jacking frame-work that allows the platform to be height adjusted.

In wave fields that average from 2 to 15 feet on a farm of 35 pumps, the system would produce 29,494,080 gallons or about 19 acre feet of fresh water per day.

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The Pelamis is a semi-submerged, articulated structure composed of cylindrical sections linked by hinged joints. The wave-induced motion of these joints is resisted by hydraulic rams, which pump high-pressure oil through hydraulic motors via smoothing accumulators. The hydraulic motors drive electrical generators to produce electricity. Power from all the joints is fed down a single umbilical cable to a junction on the sea bed. Several devices can be connected together and linked to shore through a single seabed cable.

A novel joint configuration is used to induce a tuneable, cross-coupled resonant response, which greatly increases power capture in small seas. Control of the restraint applied to the joints allows this resonant response to be 'turned-up' in small seas where capture efficiency must be maximised or 'turned-down' to limit loads and motions in survival conditions. The machine is held in position by a mooring system, for which a patent has been applied for, comprising of a combination of floats and weights which prevent the mooring cables becoming taut. It maintains enough restraint to keep the Pelamis positioned but allows the machine to swing head on to oncoming waves. Reference is achieved by spanning successive wave crests. The 750kw full-scale prototype is 120m long and 3.5 m in diameter and will contain three Power Conversion Module, each rated at 250kW. Each module contains a complete electro-hydraulic power generation system. 

Ideally the Pelamis would be moored in waters approximately 50-60m in depth (often 5-10km from the shore). This would allow access to the great potential of the larger swell waves but it would avoid the costs involved in a longer submarine cable; if the machine was located further out to sea.

Throughout the construction of the full-scale Pelamis, OPD has been working closely with WS Atkins who have independently verified the prototype design according to (DNV) offshore codes and standards.

Ocean Renewable Power Company

TECHNOLOGY DESCIRIPTION

• A typical OCGen™ project will consist of several OCGen™ modules deployed in an array or “school” in the middle of the Gulf Stream or other ocean current, that are interconnected to an on-shore utility substation through an underwater transmission system

• Each OCGen™ module will consist of four (4) water-tight turbine nacelles located on a submersible frame structure called an OCGen™ platform.

• ORPC has initially evaluated turbine generators in the 1.0 to 2.5 megawatt (“MW”) size range, which would result in OCGen™ modules with a gross generating capacity of 4.0 to 10.0 MW.

• The propeller blades are about 1/3 the size of propeller blades currently being used for same size turbines used in the wind generation industry. The propellers will be mounted on propeller shafts which will connect to the turbine nacelles through a pack box (water-tight bearing) on the nacelles.

• Each turbine nacelle will house the end of the propeller shaft, gear, brake, generator, transformer, power electronics and control system inside a watertight housing that is an integral structural part of the OCGen™ platform.

• The OCGen™ module will be anchored to the ocean floor using a deep water mooring system and will be connected electrically to the underwater transmission line using a feeder transmission cable.

• The underwater transmission line will interconnect with all of the OCGen™ modules and the on-shore utility substation.

• As the new hydrogen economy increases demand for hydrogen, the OCGen™ projects could be used to produce hydrogen at sea, which would then be transported to port storage facilities, thus eliminating the need for an underwater transmission lineThe OCGen™ modules are designed to float on the ocean surface in a horizontal position for ease of initial deployment, inspection, maintenance, repair and replacement.

• Using a state-of-the-art automation and control systems the OCGen™ modules can be submersed, rotated to the vertical operating position and brought down to an optimal operating depth The process can be reversed for maintenance and inspection.

• This positioning will be calculated to capture the optimal flow of the ocean current and avoid interference with shipping or any other surface water activity.

• The OCGen™ platform is a proprietary design that will be fabricated, constructed and installed using existing shipbuilding technologies and materials.

• The housing and seals of the turbine nacelle are standard components in the shipbuilding industry and the blades and internal equipment comprising the turbine nacelles are adaptations of equipment now available in the wind turbine industry.

• The mooring system utilizes self-embedding anchors, anchor chains and mooring cables common in the shipping and offshore oil industries.

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Ocean waves move horizontally across a plane. Their movement causes vertical turbulence in substrata to a depth correspondent with the size and period of the wave. Below this depth, pressure and viscous shear diminish turbidity and attenuate water particle motion. Relative movement between two buoys, with one floating on hydroface and the other suspended at essentially undisturbed strata, reveals significant change from effective wave motion. Consider one buoy, with a rod attached to it, floating on the hydroface. Consider another buoy, with a tube attached to it, submerged at the undisturbed depth by an air to weight ratio- the volume of contained air to the weight of its container plus the attached tube. Reciprocation occurs with the rod inside the tube as a result of ocean wave troughing and cresting. However, horizontal wave forces push the floating buoy away from the submerged buoy so that it cannot naturally return to the initial vertical position. If another rod, with a weight mass secured on one end, is attached to the bottom of the submerged buoy (with mass subtracted from the original buoy mass) an improved air to weight configuration is achieved but the relationship remains somewhat tenuous. A most stable assembly is obtained if the width of the weight is greater than the submerged sphere diameter. The arrangement simply resembles a cone, having apex pointed in an upward direction, not unlike the rotated stance of a defensive boxer preparing to receive a punch. With regard to readily manufactured components, this conical form translates to the general shape of a tetrahedron module providing suitable power generation means that convert wave energy to electrical energy. Simple beginnings with table tennis ball and wire assemblies in water filled wastebaskets led to working models construction and testing of the first thus termed OWEC Ocean Wave Energy Converter™.

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ORECon is a wave energy device developer committed to the commercial exploitation of the 'MRC' wave powered renewable electricity generator.

 

ORECon's development program commenced in 2002, achieving several key stages todate:

• Proof of concept with the deployment of a 13 tonne sea trials unit - 2002 

• 100th scale tank testing at the Univesity of Plymouth - 2002

• 20th scale tank testing at the IFREMER facility in Brest - 2003

• Pre-FEED of a 2MW generating system - 2003/4

• FEED for a 2MW pre-production prototype - 2005/6

• Full system trials, providing renewable electricity to the UK grid.

In conjunction with technical development of the 'MRC' system, ORECon is actively addressing site selection and mitigation of potential environmental impact to ensure responsible engineering, respectful of the marine environment and its users.

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Floating Wave Power Vessel 

Sea Power has realised the problems and obstacles that have to be overcome in order to develop a long lasting and durable wave power station. Such a construction must withstand the rough sea environment and simultaneously transform incoming wave energy into electric energy with a constant high degree of efficiency. Sea Power has developed and modified a basic concept that can be described with the following:

The wave-power-concept is based on a floating platform that continuously shifts to accommodate the incoming waves. The waves break against a ramp (an artificial, steep beach) and spill into a basin. Thus, the kinetic energy of the waves has resulted in a volume of water - stored in the basin - containing potential energy.

The basin is placed on a certain height over the ocean's calm water level and the water passes out through a number of low-pressure turbines that drive electrical generators. The electricity generated leaves the power station via an ocean cable.

Ballast water tanks support the FWPV and take the platform to a suitable depth to optimise the efficiency at different wave heights and lengths. The platform's depth is regulated by a computer that via inlet valves and pumps adjusts the water level in the ballast tanks depending on the present wave heights.

The platform computer is programmed to register extreme wave heights and pressure changes that occur in conjunction with the build-up of a small storm or hurricane.  Should that happen, the computer will ballast the platform so that only a small area is exposed. Subsequently, should the platform encounter very large waves during a hurricane, such extreme waves will simply wash over the platform. Even so, the anchoring is dimensioned to handle a "hundred year wave," i.e. an extreme wave that statistically occurs once every hundred years. Off the south coast of England, such a wave would for instance reach a height of about 20 meters and a length of up to 500 meters.

The fact that the wave power station is a floating construction allows for it to be built at a shipyard and transported to the site of operation. The power station can carry any nation's flag - hence; be adjusted to local regulations, tax aspects and so forth.

The Streamturbine

The stream turbine concept consists of a turbine house with a Savonius turbine, mounted under a buoy that is anchored so that it can not rotate with the stream. The turbine is independent of the direction of the stream wherefore the turbine, which is connected to an electric generator, can extract the energy in both tidal streams for instance.

The bottom part of the turbine is equipped with a weight, which allows it to normally rest vertically, but can turn out in case of increasing stream speed. This construction protects the turbine from damage and stress from overload. The electricity is transported via  cable to land. This cable connection is simplified for this concept, compared to the  wave power station, since the buoy does not rotate.   

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Power Plants from Sea Waves

•The system creates pressurization of ocean water, which in turn causes pressure on hydraulic oil. This activates a hydraulic motor, which produces electricity.

•The uniqueness of the method:

–The process collects energy, not only from the visible surface waves, but also from power below the surface, inherent in ocean waves. The power harnessed from below the surface is far greater than which could be harnessed from the surface wave alone.

–Constant production of electricity (despite the inconsistent nature of the sea.

•Basic and robust technology with few moving parts consisting mainly of standard hydraulic and electrical equipment.

•Only 15% of the system components are located in the seawater.

Verdant Power

TURBINE / SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT, EAST RIVER, NEW YORK

In December 2002 and January 2003, Verdant Power successfully deployed a prototype turbine system in the East River in New York City. The system was tested in the Chesapeake Bay in the fall of 2002. This first phase of the multi-year commercial project was conducted in cooperation with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), New York Power Authority (NYPA), Columbia University, the Department of Energy's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (DOE INEEL) as well as the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (DOE ORNL),

the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Hudson Valley Technology Development Center, the U.S. Navy's David Taylor Model Basin, and the National Hydropower Association (NHA).

Situated on the Eastern side of Roosevelt Island in tidal currents reaching 4 knots, the demonstration unit was deployed from a double-hulled vessel specially designed and fabricated for Verdant Power. The platform, shown here, along with the derrick, control and monitoring, and safety systems, will be used again for field testing and design prototyping at other sites across the country.

The surface-mounted axial flow turbine, with 10-foot diameter rotors, generated up to 16 kW of power. A yaw system allowed the system to rotate and capture energy from both ebb and flow tides.

The findings of the East River demonstration resulted in two consecutive additional NYSERDA awards to the Company to co-fund the design, fabrication, and deployment of a study set of six units to be installed and operated for at least 18 months, commencing early summer of 2005. This temporary small field of six turbines will be used for study purposes. When these six 5-meter diameter rotor, axial flow, turbine systems are deployed in the East River in New York City; it will be the first grid-connected, distributed generation, multi-turbine array in the world.

Deployment of the six turbine study field is awaiting final permits from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . Verdant Power and its partners have been actively engaged in dialogs with all relevant stakeholders, including over a dozen state and federal resource agencies. Verdant Power has been issued a preliminary permit for this project and site by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The project's ultimate goal is to construct a 5 to 10 megawatt power field. It will be populated with several hundred turbine units, mounted on mono-piles affixed to the bottom of the tidal basin. The proposed area covered by the turbines is shown on the preliminary layout map to the left. The final layout and exact size of the full-field will be determined in stakeholder working groups over the next several months in preparation for submission of a FERC hydropower license application.

 

 

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Velocity Profile - East River, NYC

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(Danish Site)

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Wave Dragon is a floating, slack-moored energy converter of the overtopping type that can be deployed in a single unit or in arrays of Wave Dragon units in groups of 2-200 resulting in a power plant with a capacity comparable to traditional fossil based power plants.

The first prototype connected to the grid is currently deployed in Nissum Bredning, Denmark. Extensive testing will lead to a full commercial deployment in 2007.

The Wave Dragon concept combines existing, mature offshore and hydro turbine technology in a novel way. Wave Dragon is the only wave energy converter technology under development that can be freely up-scaled. Due to its size service, maintenance and even major repair works can be carried out at sea leading to low O&M cost relatively to other concepts.

The basic idea of the Wave Dragon wave energy converter is to use well-known and well-proven principles from traditional hydropower plants in an offshore floating platform.

It is really very simple: The Wave Dragon overtopping device elevates ocean waves to a reservoir above sea level where water is let out through a number of turbines and in this way transformed into electricity, i.e. a thre-step energy conversion:

Overtopping (absorption) -> Storage (reservoir) -> power-take-off (low-head hydro turbines.

A simple, rubust and reliable system.

Wavegen



We offer a range of specialist products, services and skills.

Limpet is a shoreline wave energy conversion unit currently in use and connected to the national grid.

Nearshore OWC is a near-shore unit that, like Limpet, uses the oscillating water column (OWC) principle of power generation.

We can offer potential developers a wide range of project development services, from feasibility through to production.

We also own and operate a state-of-the-art wave test tank and turbine test facilities.

WavePlane Production A/S



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The function of The WavePlane.

Seen from above the construction is triangular. Along two of the sides there are inlet ducts and right between those the anchoring point is located. This design ensures that the WavePlane always will position it self with the anchoring point and the inlet facing directly towards the waves.

The WavePlane is a floating construction. In opposition to a boat it doesn't ride the waves up and down, but remains at water level. The WavePlane uses the same principle as a floating oil-platform with regard to lie still in waves. The WavePlane is a rigid construction with a damping plate (a big vertical plate) in the bottom. In the prototype there are three damping plates - one underneath the front and two connected to the two down going tubes. As the area of the damping plates is larger then the water level area of the device, the whole construction mostly follows the movements of the damping plates, which is minimal. The WavePlane is kept afloat by foam filled tanks.

The conversion of wave

The artificial beach

The WavePlane converts the shape and speed of the incoming wave. When the lower part of the wave hits the artificial beach it is speeded down a little, whereby the upper part of the wave relatively is pushed forward and thereby is "thrown" into the device.

The WavePlane primarily uses the part of the wave lying over water level (the wave crest). The water intake is a series of reservoirs with plates resembling planning tools. This has given the device it's name. The part of the wave, which is flushed in through the reservoirs, will be "cut in a number of horizontal slices".

The water flushing through the lower reservoirs flows directly into the "fly-wheel-tube". Some of the water flowing through the upper reservoirs is stored and is only used when the wave crest has passed the device.

All reservoirs are getting narrower towards the "fly-wheel-tube". The water thereby is squeezed and as a result the speed goes up (principle of Bernoulli). As the kinetic part of the energy goes up with the square of the speed of the water, a small increase of speed gives a relatively large increase of kinetic energy.

The fly-wheel-tube

All water flushing passed by the reservoirs of the WavePlane will be squeezed into the side of the fly-wheel-tube, whereby the water is let into a whirling movement. The rotation of this whorl is so strong that it continues during the period of two to three "missing" waves. Even though the water coming to the WavePlane has an irregular pulse, the conversion of flow through the fly-wheel-tube results in an even flowing and rotating stream.

 

 

Elements of whirl generation

1)     The wave hits the artificial beach

2)     The water of the waves is squeezed in between the funnels and further into the flywheel tube. The whirl has sufficient power to run a turbine.

3)     All funnels are over flushed.

4)     The upper funnels have storing capacity. The water in these is first used when the wave has passed.

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In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

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