The U.S.-headquartered Oscilla Power has made the first technical hire for its subsidiary in India to support the development of the Triton wave energy device.
The Seattle-based company appointed VVS Sricharan as its newest hydrodynamicst, who has been tasked to develop an India-specific concept design for Triton.
According to Oscilla Power, Western wave climates are very strong and can produce a lot of electricity, their extreme waves are massive, therefore, Triton must be designed with a survival system to manage those conditions. On the other hand, the West Coast of India does not have such strong waves and such extreme wave conditions.
In effect, Oscilla Power says that this gives it the opportunity to develop a more cost-effective Triton system designed specifically for the local Indian market, a one that does not need to be as structurally robust and with modifications to make it more efficient in weaker waves.
“While the Indian climates will produce less electricity than our Western climates, we can design a much more cost-effective model of the Triton that will allow us to be more competitive from a cost of electricity standpoint,” Oscilla Power stated.
The Triton device is a multi-mode point absorber that consists of a geometrically optimized surface float connected to a ring-shaped, vertically asymmetric heave plate by three taut, flexible tendons.
Unlike most conventional wave energy devices, Triton’s surface float can extract energy from ocean waves in all six degrees of freedom (heave, pitch, surge, roll and yaw) allowing for increased energy capture across a wider range of ocean conditions.
The cost to build and install a utility-scale Triton wave energy system for use in India is approximately $1 million, which is significantly lower than the cost to manufacture a system for a U.S. or European climate, which would be closer to $2-2.5 million, according to the company.
Oscilla Power launched a crowdfunding campaign in July 2021 to support the planned wave energy project in India.