Menu
Menu
Menu
While solutions are being found to many of the technological issues that have challenged wave power, the industry is still struggling to justify the investment required compared to the potential electricity generated
There have been many attempts to develop wave energy technology and just as many failures. Its proneness to break down in tough weather conditions was one major issue and if it survived a storm, it did not produce enough electricity to justify its size, weight and costs, says Patrik Möller, CEO at Sweden’s CorPower Ocean, a developer of wave energy converters. The lack of agreement over any kind of standardisation also didn't help. Unlike wind energy technology, where the industry agreed that a wind turbine consisted of a tower, a nacelle and mainly three blades, wave technology has taken on various guises.
Many of these issues remain, but several of the technologies being tested at the moment look “more promising” with the potential to reap energy from the waves and be robust enough to survive a big storm, says Jens Peter Kofoed from Aalborg University, Denmark. He cites CorPower Ocean and Weptos, a Danish developer, as two companies addressing these challenges “without the use of extreme amounts of materials”. CorPower Ocean is preparing a full-scale test of its technology, which it says can survive the toughest weather conditions and produce enough energy to make it profitable. “Structural efficiency in terms of how much energy our customers can produce compared with the tonnes of equipment they need, has improved fivefold,” compared with previous best practice says Möller. ...
Try FORESIGHT - 30 days for €29
Regulators and the wind industry are paying increasing attention to repowering existing wind farms to ensure prime wind sites continue to be exploited and renewable energy targets are met
Creating a financial market for energy efficiency in buildings through green mortgages could be the best way to ramp up building renovations and create a virtuous circle that benefits people, planet and profit
The cement sector has accepted the size of its carbon footprint, but it will take greater pressure from regulators and NGOs to force the industry to totally change its ways
India’s solar sector may be facing certain difficulties, but its future holds plenty of potential
Accelerating the energy transition will be good news for jobs, the economy and climate, says a major report published in September 2018
Combining untried wave power with well proved wind on a floating platform may forge a path to commercialisation of a hybrid solution to harnessing the energy of the seas.
