Ocean Wave Energy

Energy Domain Presentation

Nicholas McNeill
28 Feb. 2017
E.E.E.
Presentation Overview

Forms of Wave Wave Benefits

Current Moving Key
Ocean Energy Energy and
Status Forward Questions
Energy Overview Converters Drawbacks
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

• Energy Source:
OTEC utilizes the temp.
gradient of the ocean in
heat exchangers of a
Rankine turbine
• Largest test facility in
Hawaii produces 105kW
after a $5 million upfront

[1]
Ocean Current Energy

• Energy Source: continuous flow of ocean due to surface winds,

water salinity, temperature, ocean floor topography, and the earth’s
rotation
• Similar turbine tech to tidal but far less mature
• Much more difficult to construct
• Much more power cables would be needed
• Harder to determine ecological ramifications

[2]
Tidal Energy

Energy source: gravitational pull of the moon forms tides

Tidal Barrages
Tidal Streams

• Turbines capture • Free standing wind

energy from turbines anchored
differing water to the sea floor
levels
• Lower upfront
• Dam is full of costs
turbines
• Less concentrated
• Energy collected in energy
both directions

[4]
Ocean Wave Energy Overview
Unit:
kW/m

• Energy Source: Wind blowing on the ocean surface

• Latitudinal wind belts—especially Westerlies—are most
promising locations
• Took off after oil crisis of 1973

Wind Direction

[5]
Wave Energy Converters
• Different WEC’s absorb surge, sway, &
heave
• Components of wave energy tech
Structure and prime mover to capture the
energy of the wave
Foundation and mooring
Power take-off system that converts WEC Technologies (>1000 pat)
mechanical to electrical energy  Attenuator
Control systems for safety and optimization  Point Absorber
 Oscillating wave surge converter
 Oscillating water column
 Overtopping device
 Submerged pressure differential
[6,7]
Attenuators (~14%)
• Long, multi-segment structures float parallel to the
wave direction
• “Ride” the wave: device motion follows wave motion
• Relative motion of pontoons convert energy through
a hydraulic circuit or mechanical gear train

180 M long, 4M ⌀: 750kW [6,7]

Terminators/Overtopping Devices (~33%)
• Capture water waves as they enter into a storage reservoir
• Water passes through a top head turbine and is returned to the ocean
• Shoreline or floating moored structures

overtopping
reservoir

turbine outlet
Large 100M ⌀: 12MW
Small operation: 20kW [6,7]
Point Absorber (~53%)
• Floating buoy that rises and falls with each
passing wave
• Movement is used to pump a hydraulic fluid in a
column below the surface which is used to
rotate the generator
• First WEC to achieve large scale deployment

Height: 41m
Diameter: 11m
P: 150kW

[6,7]
Wave Energy Prize

18 month public design/

build/test from the DOE
Goal: “increase the
diversity of
organizations involved
in Wave Energy
Converter (WEC)
technology
development, while
motivating and
inspiring existing
stakeholders”
Point absorber with
superior control
1st place winners AquaHarmonics strategies

[8]
Pros & Cons
Benefits
+ Clean energy
+ Renewable
+ Abundant
+ Slightly intermittent (90% compared
to 30%) but predictable
+ More energy dense than air/wind
+ Bulk of population lives near water
reducing energy loss
+ Different WEC available for
differing environments and needs
+ Reduces damages to land
+ Low operating costs
Drawbacks
- High upfront cost
- Rarely breakages are costly
- Low rate of improvement
- Only suitable in certain locations
- Duck curve
- Issues with bad weather
- Effects on marine life
- Boating concerns
- Noise and Aesthetics
[9,10]
 Current Status of Ocean Energy

• Still early stage of development from conceptual up to demonstration

stage (tidal is a little further)
• Best locations and projected energy/upkeep is far along
• Need more data for environmental issues (empirical) other than
carbon LCA
• Need more data for cost at the commercial scale
• Need to figure out regulations to streamline
mass deployment

[11]
SI Ocean’s Energy Cost Projections

Costing Approach

Tidal Energy Cost vs Throughput

Cost Breakdown

Wave Energy Cost vs Throughput [12]

 Regulations & Government Funding

• Bulk of regulation is done at the state level but there is overlap

• Several federal organizations:
• Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
• Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) says its hydroelectric
• Federal Funding
• Wave energy prize in 2016
• $7.4M from Energy department for MHK
• Marine and Hydrokinetic Renewable Energy Promotion Act of 2010 was not
passed and would have invested $800M reauthorizes the Department of
Energy’s Water Power program with a total amount of $800 million for MHK
• 30% tax credit
[13]
Why Hasn’t Wave Energy Made a Bigger Splash?

• Difficult technical challenges

• Vast differences in WEC
• High upfront costs due to installation
• “Where wind energy was three decades ago”
• No major players entering the market

[14,15]
Moving Forward/Challenges

• Improve and converge WEC designs to drive down costs

• Get a big player into the game
• Invest in combined wind and wave farms
• Secondary energy option after easy wind locations have been
saturated
Discussion Questions

• What Wave Energy Converter will become the norm?

• How large of an effect would widespread ocean wave energy
converters have on the environment?
• How should ocean energy play into the US/World’s energy
portfolio? How should funding reflect this? Is it worth pursuing
currently?
Works Cited
[1] https://www.makai.com/ocean-thermal-energy-conversion/
[2] https://www.boem.gov/Ocean-Current-Energy/
[3] http://www.halcyontidalpower.com/what-is-tidal-power/
[4] http://site.ebrary.com.libproxy.rpi.edu/lib/rpi/reader.action?docID=10756549
[5] https://www.csiro.au/en/Research/OandA/Areas/Marine-technologies/Ocean-energy
[6] http://www.emec.org.uk/marine-energy/wave-devices/
[7] http://www.alternative-energy-tutorials.com/wave-energy/wave-energy-devices.html
[8] https://waveenergyprize.org/
[9] http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/advantages_disadvantages_waveenergy.php
[10] https://www.boem.gov/Ocean-Wave-Energy/
[11] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032115016676
[12] https://energiatalgud.ee/img_auth.php/1/10/SI_OCEAN._Ocean_Energy_-_Cost_of_Energy_and_Cost_Reduction._2013.pdf
[13] http://oregonwave.org/news/legislation-regulation/
[14] http://e360.yale.edu/features/why_wave_power_has_lagged_far_behind_as_energy_source
[15] http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/ugc/articles/2013/03/can-offshore-wind-make-or-break-wave-energy.html