Swedish wave energy developer Waves4Power has released a video showing its WaveEL wave energy system being turned on and feeding power to the Norwegian grid.
The WaveEl demonstration system was first launched at Runde test site off the Norwegian west coast in February 2016.
In May 2017, the connection hub and sea cable to shore were laid and the installation of the system was completed .
On June 2, 2017 the switch was flipped and power from the WaveEL system started successfully to feed the Norwegian power grid.
The heart of the system is the WaveEL buoy, a point absorber wave energy converter.
The buoy has a long vertical tube, called the acceleration tube, passing through it. It is secured with a mooring system which allows the buoy free vertical movement.
The system also features a dynamic cable which connects the WaveEL buoy to the collection hub and then via sea cable to the shore based power grid.
WaveEL device produces electricity using hydraulic pump which is connected to the accumulator that feeds a hydraulic motor with a generator, which in turn converts the hydraulic pressure to electric power.
The system can be deployed in an array, forming a wave power park that can consist of a large number of WaveEL buoys linked together in an optimized power generation pattern.