Columbia Power Technologies, an Oregon-based wave energy developer, has designed a wave power system that captures energy from passing waves and produces electricity on-board the device.
Columbia Power’s StingRAY wave power system uses the floats and spar that independently react to the shape of the passing ocean wave.
Each float is directly coupled by a drive shaft to its own rotary generator.
The two generators are located inside the nacelle near the top of the vertical spars.
As each float rotates, so does its generator, which creates electricity.
The generated power is then conditioned to stable, electric-grid-compatible output. In a wave farm, this electricity is collected in an offshore substation for transmission ashore and connection to the grid.
StingRAY wave power system is designed for deployment in water depths of over 60 m, and arrayed in wave energy farms.
In February 2011, a 1:4.5 scale v3.1 prototype StingRAY was deployed for thirteen month sea trials in Puget Sound, Washington, after which Columbia Power conducted further optimization of the device.
In November 2014, the company announced the open-water demonstration of a utility-scale StingRAY at the US Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) off Oahu, Hawaii.
The grid-connected StingRAY deployment at WETS will commence in 2016 and last for a minimum of 12 months, according to Columbia Power.
Take a look at the video of StingRAY during Puget Sound trials.
Source/Image: Columbia Power Technologies