Ocean waves are caused by the wind as it blows across the sea. Waves are a powerful source of energy.
Wave power devices extract energy directly from surface waves or from pressure fluctuations below the surface. Renewable energy analysts believe there is enough energy in the ocean waves to provide up to 2 terawatts of electricity.
Wave power cannot be harnessed everywhere. Wave power rich areas of the world include the western coasts of Scotland, northern Canada, Southern Africa, Australia and the northwestern coasts of US. In the Pacific Northwest alone, it’s feasible that wave energy could produce 40-70 KW per meter of western coastline.
The Agucadoura Wave Farm was the world’s first attempt at a commercial wave farm. It was located 5km offshore near povoa de Varzim north Oporto in Portugal. The farm was design to use three pelamis wave energy converters to convert the motion of the ocean surface waves into electricity, totaling 2.25MW in total installed capacity.
There are several methods of getting energy from waves. Wave energy can be converted into electricity through both offshore and onshore systems.
Offshore system
Offshore systems are situated in deep water, typically of more than 40 meters. Sophisticated mechanisms … like the Salter Duck … use the bobbing motion of the waves to power a pump that creates electricity. Other offshore devices use hoses connected to floats that ride the waves. The rise and fall of the float stretches and relaxes the hose, which pressurizes the water, which, in turn, rotates a turbine. Specially built seagoing vessels can also capture the energy of offshore waves. These floating platforms create electricity by funneling waves through internal turbines and then back into the sea.
Onshore System
Built along shorelines, onshore wave power systems extract the energy in braking waves. Onshore system technologies include the following.
Few Videos ( wave power)
======================================================
No comments:
Post a Comment