Ocean power - Marine & Ocean energy

"Pelamis is the world's most advanced wave energy technology company. The Pelamis is an offshore wave energy converter that uses the energy of ocean waves to generate electricity. Offshore wave energy has the potential to be one of the most environmentally benign forms of electricity generation.

Pelamis Wave Power are working on a range of projects, from ongoing machine testing for customers to development of commercial wave farms off the coast of Scotland and Portugal." ... more

"Marine Current Turbines Ltd (MCT) has a demonstrated pedigree of pioneering the development of tidal stream generation technology for over 20 years. Now under the ownership of the Siemens, MCT is poised to become the World's leading OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) of commercial scale tidal stream technology, dedicated to research, design, manufacture and support of tidal stream energy generating systems.

MCT has proven that the technology is scalable, commercially viable and an environmentally sustainable solution to zero carbon energy generation. The technology is now ready for deployment in commercial scale tidal energy projects.

MCT is now focused on the development of the first tidal array projects in the UK on carefully selected sites that will deliver a good commercial return for investors." ... more

Blue Energy

"Blue Energy Canada Inc. (BEC) is commercializing its proprietary tidal bridge technology to produce large scale, predictable and sustainable power. By integrating mature, robust technologies and cutting edge design with a standardized and modular approach to construction, BEC will use its tidal turbines to generate zero fuel, pollution-free electricity while also providing infrastructure and transportation solutions across waterways. These will be massive developments ranging from several hundred megawatts to several gigawatts, and will be aimed at specific end users or regional development initiatives. With the development of Blue Energy's tidal bridge, the company will be building bridges to our energy future." ... more

Wavegen

"As world leaders of commercial wave powered electrical generation technology, Wavegen has pioneered the research, development and manufacture of several innovative marine power systems.

Established in 1992, by Professor Alan Wells FRS inventor of the Wells Turbine, Wavegen has developed a range of energy modules for clients to exploit the unlimited wave energy resources in the shoreline, near shore and offshore environments."

Technology :

"Wavegen's devices are comprised of two basic elements; a collector to capture the wave energy and a turbo generator to transform the wave power into electricity." ... more

Ocean Wave Energy Company

"Ocean Wave Energy Company (OWECO) is pioneering a novel Ocean Wave Energy Converter through an active research program. The technology was conceived while the inventor was an undergraduate architecture student with growing interest in industrial design. As participant in a studio, "Ocean Habitat", having primary design focus on living and research spaces at water's edge, on the ocean hydroface, or in subsurface environs, the inventor made many sketches of rather organic nature including "research spheres" arranged in such configuration to resemble the general shape of octopi. The spherical bodies were to be interconnected by idealized tensile materials, analogous to muscle tissue, that electrochemically contract or expand to raise or lower spheres to particular ocean depths of research interest.

While technologically unfeasible in 1978, further exploration disclosed the nature of water waves and, particularly, attenuation of water particle motion correspondent to depth. Neutral buoyancy concepts embellished the design approach. Consideration of relative distance between two spherical buoys, with one floating on hydroface and the other suspended at essentially undisturbed strata, revealed significant change from effective wave motion" more

Oceanlinx Wave Energy
"Oceanlinx is a leading international company in the field of wave energy conversion. The company has developed proprietary technology for extracting energy from ocean waves and converting it into either electricity or desalinated sea water. Known as Energetech until 2007, Oceanlinx has been designing and deploying wave energy systems since 1997. The company has developed both a shallow water version of its technology, named greenWAVE, and a corresponding deep water version named blueWAVE. These commercial products are the culmination of this detailed decade-long development phase. Oceanlinx remains at the leading edge of marine renewable technology development.

How Oceanlinx Wave Energy Work

Ocean waves contain enormous quantities of energy. Harnessing this energy is the objective of the Oceanlinx technology. At the heart of the technology are several simple elements:
  - An Oscillating Water Column;
  - An Oceanlinx turbine;
  - A generator and control system

Oscillating Water Columns

Oscillating Water Columns (OWCs) are simple constructions that act like a piston and cylinder. As the wave rises within the OWC, it replicates the action of a piston, driving a column of air ahead of it and past the turbine. As the wave recedes the opposite effect is experienced. Air is sucked back into the OWC and past the turbine.

To make the energy extraction effective, the cross sectional area of the OWC is narrowed as it approaches the turbine. This serves to accelerate the air so that it reaches its maximum velocity as it passes the turbine." ... more

OpenHydro

"OpenHydro is a technology business that designs and manufactures marine turbines to generate renewable energy from tidal streams.

The company's vision is to deploy farms of tidal turbines under the world's oceans - silently and invisibly generating electricity at no cost to the environment. OpenHydro's technology enables the ocean's immense energy to be harnessed for the benefit of all.

The electricity produced is completely renewable since it relies on tides that are created by the gravitational effect of the sun and moon.

OpenHydro was formed in 2005 after the negotiation of world rights to the Open-Centre Technology in late 2004. The technology was developed in the USA over an eight year period prior to 2004." ... more

"Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) is a leading renewable energy company specializing in cost-effective, advanced, and environmentally sound wave power technology. OPT's PowerBuoy system integrates patented technologies in hydrodynamics, electronics, energy conversion, and computer control systems to extract the natural energy in ocean waves. The result is a leading edge, ocean-tested, proprietary system that turns wave power into reliable, clean, and environmentally beneficial electricity." more

BioPower Systems

"BioPower Systems is a renewable energy technology company based in Sydney Australia. We are developing systems for both wave and tidal power conversion. The company is currently working on ocean-based demonstration projects and follow-on market opportunities for its products and services

The unique bioWAVE^TM and bioSTREAM^TM ocean energy devices are based on 'biomimicry', or nature-inspired design, and are designed to generate commercial quantities of clean renewable electricity with no green house gas emission and minimal impact on the environment." ... more

AWS Ocean Energy Ltd.

"AWS Ocean Energy is a leading company in the wave energy industry. Headquartered in Scotland with abundant natural resources on our doorstep, we have taken an honest and pragmatic approach to creating smart wave power solutions.

At AWS we have a clear purpose. We will develop and deliver the technology of choice for utility scale generation of offshore wave power. We are driven by finding solutions to all of the challenges present in creating a practical affordable wave energy device and approach this in an evolutionary manner. Our strategy is endorsed by Alstom, our major OEM backer and contrasts with that of other developers who doggedly pursue a single invention no matter how obvious the flaws.

The result of this approach is the AWS-III: A multi-cell array of flexible membrane absorbers which covert wave power to pneumatic power through compression of air within each cell. The cells are inter-connected, thus allowing interchange of air between cells in anti-phase. Turbine-generator sets are provided to convert the pneumatic power to electricity." ... more

Aquamarine Power story

"We set up Aquamarine Power in 2005 to bring our innovative wave energy technology known as Oyster to the commercial market. Our vision is to make marine renewable energy mainstream."

Aquamarine Power, Oyster technology

"We have engineered our Oyster technology to use the world's vast wave energy resource to produce clean sustainable electricity. Our research and development team are continually working to refine the design of Oyster, while our resource assessment capabilities mean we are able to select optimum sites to install our technology."

How Oyster wave power works

"Aquamarine Power's Oyster wave power technology captures energy in nearshore waves and converts it into clean sustainable electricity. Essentially Oyster is a wave-powered pump which pushes high pressure water to drive an onshore hydro-electric turbine." ... more

Carnegie Wave Energy Limited

"Carnegie Wave Energy Limited is the ASX-listed inventor, owner and developer of the patented CETO wave energy technology that converts ocean swell into zero-emission renewable power and desalinated freshwater. Carnegie has raised over $45m to fund the development of the CETO technology and employs unique rapid prototyping utilising computational simulation, wave tank testing, scaled in-ocean testing at its private Wave Energy Research Facility and onshore/offshore test site and commercial scale in-ocean testing at Garden Island, Western Australia.

CETO is designed to be the simplest and most robust wave technology globally and, after 10 years of continuous development, testing and refinement, is currently being demonstrated at commercial scale off HMAS Stirling, Australia's largest navy base, at Garden Island in Western Australia. CETO is the only ocean-tested wave energy technology globally that is both fully submerged and generates power and or desalinated water onshore. The CETO technology has been independently verified by EDF – Energies Nouvelles (EDF EN) and the French naval contractor DCNS.

CETO is a fully submerged technology capable of producing renewable power and directly desalinated freshwater from the ocean’s waves" ... more

The Wavebob wave energy converter

"The Wavebob wave energy converter (WEC) is a highly innovative oscillating point absorber designed to convert wave energy into low cost per kWh electricity in order to provide operators with sustainably high returns on capital due to:
  - Low capex and O&M costs
  - High average electrical power output
  - High installed capacity of > 1 MWe
  - Automatic adjustment to constantly changing wave conditions
  - Ability to maintain on-station at sea
  - Powerful response to long period ocean waves
  - Predictable output
  - Inherent seaworthiness of a buoy structure

Technology demonstration activities have been underway for over 10 years. During that period, proof-of-concept, theoretical analyses and numerical modeling and tank-test verification activities have been undertaken. This development plan has followed a robust R&D process – recognised as the industry standard development protocol for Wave Energy Converters, as developed by the Hydraulics & Maritime Research Centre (HMRC) in University College Cork, Ireland." ... more

The Vortex Hydro Energy

"Vortex Hydro Energy has exclusive license to commercialize a University of Michigan patented, hydrokinetic power generating device, the VIVACE converter, which harnesses hydrokinetic energy of river and ocean currents. This converter is unlike water turbines as it does not use propellers. VIVACE uses the physical phenomenon of vortex induced vibration in which water current flows around cylinders inducing transverse motion. The energy contained in the movement of the cylinder is then converted to electricity.

The VIVACE converter is a transformational technology. It taps into a vast new source of clean and renewable energy, that of water currents as slow as 2 to 4 knots previously off limits to conventional turbine technology that target rivers with water currents greater than 4 knots. The vast majority of river/ocean currents in the United States are slower than 3 knots." ... more

Anaconda

"Anaconda uses an entirely novel concept to harvest wave energy. Wave energy is free and widely available to the UK and Eire. Other potentially rich coasts include the USA and South American western seaboards, South Africa, Australia, parts of Malaysia, Japan, New Zealand and the western facing coasts of Europe.

The inventors proposed the concept of a distensible rubber tube anchored to the seabed that floats just beneath the surface head to sea, where bulge waves are excited by passing sea waves. The device is continually squeezed by passing sea waves. These waves form bulges in the water-filled tube and travel down its length developing the power to drive a turbine generator in the stern.

Wave energy is a particularly rich yet untapped energy resource which government studies state could produce 3%-5% of our electricity initially and up to 20% eventually.

The Anaconda project team has been testing a scaled device - part of a programme of rigorous development - completing the final stage of an exhaustive proof of concept phase at QinetiQ's Haslar Marine Technology Park at Gosport, Hampshire. The team utilised the UK's largest wave testing facility where the strength and frequency of ocean waves the device may encounter can be simulated.

Chairman, Paul Auston said: "The UK is known for its engineering excellence and politicians of all parties have been keen to challenge companies to come up with renewable energy projects that can be sold around the world. With Anaconda we have an invention that changes conventional thinking and it will help to meet the ambitious government target of providing renewable wave energy from our coastal waters. It will also help cement the UK's world leading position in this technology." ... more

WaveRoller

"WaveRoller technology exploits surge phenomenon, a strong, ubiquitous and consistent natural phenomenon present in the world's oceans. The back and forth movement of the tidal surge moves the plate, transferring the kinetic energy produced to a piston pump. The potential energy generated is then captured and converted into electricity.

A WaveRoller device is a plate anchored on the sea bottom at its base. The back and forth movement of the tidal surge moves the plate, transferring the kinetic energy created to a piston pump.

AW-Energy

"AW-Energy has developed and patented the WaveRoller technology for harnessing the power of the surge phenomenon. The first prototypes were designed and patent applications filed as early as 1999, when Rauno Koivusaari, the original inventor co-operated with Fortum Research during the conceptual phase. Since then the technology has evolved following numerous laboratory tests as well as marine tests conducted in the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), Scotland and in Peniche, Portugal.

A series of plates can be used to create an element farm and produce a larger power output. In this kind of element farm a series of piston pumps create a great deal of pressure which is fed into a collection system that then drives hydraulic motor/generator combination(s) to produce electricity.

An individual production-sized plate is designed to produce a nominal capacity of up to 600 - 800 kW of electrical power depending on the site. Since the plant construction is modular and there is no natural upper limit to the number of plates that can be used, offering a high level of scalability." ... more

OceanEnergy is a world leader in Innovative Renewable Energy within the wave energy industry.

"Wave technology is one of the most exciting areas of untapped energy potential and OceanEnergy have developed ground breaking technology to harness the power of the ocean."(...)

Platform

The ideal platform must be designed to extract energy from the waves efficiently and also survive the ferocity of the Ocean. Ocean Energy have invested 10 years perfecting their platform, which has spent over 2 years in the Atlantic waves.

Power Generation

A simple and well proven take off system is the key to the long-term success of any wave energy project. Bearing in mind that the platform may be inaccessible for long periods, robust and low maintenance technology is essential. Ocean Energy has implemented the technology to meet these requirements." ... more

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

"Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a base-load renewable energy production process particularly suited for tropical zones. This proven technology uses the ocean's temperature differential between the warm surface water and the cold deep water to generate both electricity and potable water. This 24/7 energy production technology does not depend on fossil fuels, is not vulnerable to world market fluctuations, and has less environmental impact than other energy producers. Our Chief Science Officer Dr. Stephen Oney, was a part of the team that demonstrated the technical viability of OTEC. Dr. Oney was integral in the research at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii (NELHA) which led to the successful design, construction and operation of a 210 kW OTEC pilot plant for the co-production of electricity and potable water.

OTEC power production facilities offer considerable savings for the producer and consumer while establishing energy and resource independence for the communities they serve. Such facilities also establish clearly predictable operating costs and eliminate nearly all adverse environmental impact.

Potable Water Production

Potable water production is a natural by-product of the open cycle power production in an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) system. In a closed-cycle OTEC system, potable water can also be produced by diverting some of the electricity output to a desalination facility located adjacent to the OTEC plant. Regardless of whether such plant uses a closed-cycle or open-cycle system, high quality water is produced which can in turn be used to supplement the local aquifer or catchment systems in areas of stressed or deficient local water resources. Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation also employs other commercially available water production technologies to best meet the needs of the local communities in conjunction with their power, SDC and waste heat system designs." ... more

Searaser

"We already produce Green Energy by harnessing the power of the wind and the sun - now we're developing seamills using the power of the sea. This innovation is called Searaser and it gives us low cost energy on demand. Invented by Devon engineer Alvin Smith, Searaser harnesses the almost constant power of ocean swells to create electricity on demand. It's such a simple design and we believe it'll produce electricity cheaper than any other wave-power technology, or indeed any other type of renewable energy. Potentially it could be cheaper than all existing sources of electricity - including gas, coal and nuclear - and it's carbon free.

How it works

Most existing wave technologies generate electricity in the ocean environment. But as we know water and electricity don't mix - and seawater is particularly corrosive - so most other devices are very expensive to manufacture and maintain. But Searaser doesn't generate the electricity in the water. It simply uses the almost constant motion of the ocean swell to drive seawater through an onshore turbine. Searaser pumps seawater using a vertical piston between two buoys - one on the surface of the water - the other suspended underwater and tethered to a weight on the seabed. As the ocean swell moves, the buoys move up-and-down and the piston pumps pressurised seawater through pipes to an onshore turbine. This produces electricity. Searaser units could also supply energy on-demand by pumping seawater into a coastal reservoir, with a hydropower turbine, solving renewable energy's problem of fluctuating output." ... more

Eco Wave Power, The Wave Clapper

"The Wave Clapper - For places & structures that are suffering from "space restrictions" (which means, not enough space to implement the traditional large-scale floaters), we propose the "Wave Clapper" shape, which enables to put the floaters with very small spaces between one another and prevent the need in safe gaps between the floaters.

The float is made in the form of a leak-proof capacity with a definite configuration of walls . The floater's foredeck directed against an incident wave has a pointed triangular shape, with chamfers towards the floater's bottom. At that, a surface confronting waves can have both a flat and curvilinear configuration. Thus, an incident surf wave reinforces a vertical force of the floater's ascent and getting to the "wedge" formed by foredecks of neighboring pontoons, moves them apart and protects from sides clash. It facilitates decrease in lateral loads of pontoon fastenings to a pier and increase in a construction operation life.

Besides, rounding-off of pontoon angles from the pier side facilitates seawater reflux at wave rolling back from the pier, and furthers pontoon sinking and suction of working liquid into pumping cylinders.

The "Wave Clapper" enjoys many advantages, among which are: Three different Storm-Protection Mechanisms, easy and efficient maintenance, Corrosion Protection which enables a floater's life span of at least 30 years, Shock-Waves protection Mechanism, Lever Regulation Mechanism, Float Position Regulation Mechanism, an innovative Energy Control System and a Flexible Modular Structure." ... more

S.D.E.

"S.D.E. is a world leader in the planning, building and marketing of power stations, producing power from sea waves. SDE's method consists of using sea wave motion to generate hydraulic pressure, which is then transformed into electricity. The system takes advantage of the wave's speed, height, depth, rise and fall, and the flow beneath the approaching wave, thus producing energy. A full-scale model was operated in Israel and produced 40ekW for almost one year. The model has been checked and approved by experienced engineers

Currently, the company holds Letters of Intent and orders from state leaders and electric companies in an approximate amount of US $3 billion dollars. In order to implement them, it welcomes proposals for investment, either through a sale of its shares or royalties from future revenues." ... more

The DEXAWAVE

"The DEXAWAVE converter harnesses wave energy by converting wave power into electrical energy, with the lowest possible environmental impact. The converter is being developed to have a competitive energy production cost compared to other energy sources, such as coal, gas and wind.

DEXAWAVE is a simple and inexpensive technology to harvest wave energy from high energy waves in relatively deep sea.

Economic objectives:
  1. An initial capital cost (CAPEX) per installed MW that can be compared to offshore wind turbines around 3.0 million Euros.
  2. And a production cost (OPEX) per kWh similar to the production cost for offshore wind turbines.

Wave energy has an untapped energy potential of up to three times the current world energy consumption. The International Energy Agency has designated wave energy as an energy field with a potential on a par with, or greater than, the potential of wind energy.

However, for wave energy to succeed, its Cost of Energy (OPEX) must be competitive. " ... more

British Hydropower Association (BHA)

"The BHA promotes the hydropower industry in the UK and abroad and aims to increase the awareness of its quality and scope in the wider world. Hydropower is one of the most reliable, predictable and least environmentally intrusive of all renewable energies. The BHA strives to ensure that its potential is realised.

The hydropower sector in the United Kingdom is going through an exciting phase. Government policy to limit carbon emissions has given us the opportunity to develop hydropower projects which previously would have been unviable. Businesses, communities and individuals are now involved and are playing their part in in the fight against climate change. In turn this has stimulated interest in the manufacturing and service sectors. There is also a massive overseas market to be addressed. This will only get bigger as the importance of hydropower as a tried and tested renewable energy technology is realised.

The BHA is the only UK trade association which solely addresses the demands of the growing hydropower sector. The expertise we can call upon is the best and most experienced that is available." ... more

Neptune Wave Power

"Neptune Wave Power's technology is a "point absorber" Wave Energy Conversion Device ("WECD"). The floating and securely moored offshore buoy reacts to the vertical surge and irregular movement of waves causing a horizontal pendulum within it to rotate. The rotational energy of this pendulum, through a proprietary internal drive system, is directed to an on board electric generator. Power generated is fed to the utility grid via an underwater cable system at an interconnect point. Neptune Wave Power's WECD patented designs have numerous advantages:

  - No moving parts exposed to seawater
  - Design that uses proven electrical, mechanical, mooring, and drive components
  - Modular design for cost effective manufacturing
  - Interchangeable components for cost effective maintenance
  - Scalable and movable
  - Dynamically configurable for any offshore environment
  - Operational in sea wave heights as small as 1'

Our WECDs are deployed in arrays and are fully scalable to meet the demands of a variety of applications. There are no emissions, no fuel costs, and low maintenance and monitoring costs. The electricity costs generated with this technology are competitive with any alternative generation method including wind. Design, construction, and deployment times are also dramatically less than with other alternative energy technologies." ... more

Wave Hub
"Wave Hub is a grid-connected offshore facility in South West England for the large scale testing of technologies that generate electricity from the power of the waves. It holds a 25 year lease of 8 sq km of sea bed connected to the grid by a 11/33kv subsea cable.

About Wave Hub
Wave Hub provides shared offshore infrastructure for the demonstration and proving of arrays of wave energy generation devices over a sustained period of time.

It consists of an electrical hub on the seabed 16 kilometres off the north coast of Cornwall in South West England to which wave energy devices can be connected.

The 12-tonne hub is linked to the UK's grid network via a 25km, 1300 tonne subsea cable operating at 11kV.

The project holds a 25-year lease for eight square kilometres of sea with an excellent wave climate. Wave Hub has the necessary consents and permits for up to 20MW of wave energy generation and offers a clearly defined and fully monitored site for marine energy production.

Four separate berths are available to lease, each with a capacity of 4-5MW.

Wave Hub can readily be upgraded for up to 50MW of generating capacity in the future once suitable components for operating the cable at 33kV have been developed. " ... more