Pelamis wave energy converter

All you want to know about Pelamis wave energy converter

The front of the Pelamis machine bursting through a wave at the Agucadoura Wave Park
1 of 3 Pelamis machines at the Agucadoura Wave Park

The Pelamis Wave Energy Converter is a technology that uses the motion of ocean surface waves to create electricity. The machine is made up of connected sections which flex and bend as waves pass, it is this motion which is used to generate electricity.

Developed by the Scottish company Pelamis Wave Power (formally Ocean Power Delivery), it was the world’s first commercial scale machine to generate electricity into the grid from offshore wave energy and the first to be used in commercial wave farm project.[1] The first full scale prototype was successfully installed and generated electricity to the UK grid at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, Scotland in August 2004.[2] The first wave farm, located off the coast of Portugal, was officially opened in September of 2008.[3]

Contents

Principles

The Pelamis is an attenuating wave energy converter designed with survivability at the fore. The Pelamis's long thin shape means it is almost invisible to hydrodynamic forces, namely inertia, drag, and slamming, which in large waves give rise to large loads. Its novel joint configuration is used to induce a tunable cross-coupled resonant response. 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.[4]

Operation

The Pelamis device consists of a series of semi-submerged cylindrical sections linked by hinged joints. The wave-induced relative motion of these sections is resisted by hydraulic rams which pump high pressure oil through hydraulic motors via smoothing hydraulic 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.

Wave farms

The Portuguese minister of the economy officially opened the worlds first wave farm, consisting of three Pelamis wave energy converters, on the 23 September 2008.[3] The farm is located at the Aguçadora Wave Park near Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal. It has an installed capacity of 2.25MW, enough to meet the average electricity demand of more than 1,500 Portuguese homes.[5] A second phase of the project is now planned to increase the installed capacity from 2.25MW to 21MW using a further 25 Pelamis machines.[6]

Funding for Scotland's first wave farm was announced by the Scottish Executive on 22 February 2007. It will have a installed capacity of 3 MW provided by four Pelamis machines. The farm will be located at the European Marine Test Centre off the coast of Orkney. The funding of just over £4 million is part of a £13 million funding package for marine power in Scotland.

Pelamis Wave Power has also expressed an interest in installing Pelamis devices at the Wave hub development off the north coast of Cornwall, in England and in the Pacific ocean off the coast of Tillamook, Oregon.

Etymology

Pelamis platurus is a yellow-bellied sea snake that lives in tropical and subtropical waters. It prefers shallow inshore waters.

Images

2 of 3 Pelamis machines in the harbour of Peniche, Portugal.

Pelamis on site at EMEC, the planned location for Scotland's first wave farm.

See also

Energy portal

References

  1. ^ "Pelamis Wave Power". pelamiswave.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-06.
  2. ^ "Wave Site Activity". European Marine Energy Centre. Retrieved on 2008-09-28.
  3. ^ a b "23 de Setembro de 2008". Government of Portugal. Retrieved on 2008-09-24.
  4. ^ "P-750 Wave Energy Converter". pelamiswave.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-06.
  5. ^ "Wave energy contract goes abroad". BBC Scotland. Retrieved on 2008-08-06.
  6. ^ Joao Lima. "Babcock, EDP and Efacec to Collaborate on Wave Energy Projects". Bloomberg Television. Retrieved on 2008-09-24.

External links

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See also
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelamis_Wave_Energy_Converter"

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