Havkraft and Kvernevik Engineering have transformed a fishing vessel into a wave energy plant.
The idea came from Havkraft’s CEO Geir Arne Solheim. The developers have installed four large chambers in the vessel’s bow.
As the waves strike the vessel, the water level in the chambers rises. This creates an increase in air pressure which in turn drives four turbines – one for each chamber.
The pitch of the vessel also contributes by generating additional air pressure in the chambers when the wave height is large. The design of the chambers is such that they work in response to different wave heights, which means that the energy is exploited very effectively.
Edgar Kvernevik , engineer and project manager for Kvernevik Engineering, said: “The plant thus produces electricity with the help of what is called a fluctuating water column. All we have to do is to let the vessel swing at anchor in a part of the ocean with sufficient wave energy. Everything is designed to be remotely-controlled from onshore.”
One of the organizations contributing to the project is Norwegian Marine Technology Research Institute (MARINTEK). MARTINTEK performs research and development for companies in the field of marine technology.
MARTINTEK developed a mathematical model and run a number of simulations of the mentioned wave plant. This has provided developers with a better overall picture of how much energy can be extracted from the waves. The capacity of the plant is 200 kW in total, and MARINTEK’s computations indicate that the plant is capable of producing 320,000 kWh per year.
Havkraft, a Norwegian based wave energy developer concluded the first testing phase of the wave energy converter that was deployed off the coast of Norway in December. The next phase is to build full scale demonstration plant.
Image: Havkraft