A review of wave energy technology from a research and commercial perspective

Guo, Bingyong; Ringwood, John V.

doi:10.1049/rpg2.12302

Cited by 98 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 211 publications

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“…One of the greatest challenges is the energy yield estimation in a real sea environment and the associated costs [2]. Estimating Wave Energy Converter (WEC) performances and costs at an early stage of development is crucial to decide whether to drop or further investigate the technology, avoiding money and time waste [3,4]. A cost analysis shall be carried out here, including field information and considering the whole life cycle of the device, from the construction to the end of life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-Cost Heaving Single-Buoy Wave-Energy Point Absorber Optimization for Sardinia West Coast

Rava

Dafnakis

Martini

et al. 2022

JMSE

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This work presents the Water Energy Point Absorber (WEPA), which is a heaving single-buoy point absorber optimized for a specific site off the west coast of Sardinia Island. The aim of the study is to present the optimization process undertaken to identify the best configuration in terms of performance and cost. The optimization is carried out thanks to a simulation tool developed in Matlab-Simulink environment and verified through to the commercial software Orcaflex. Simulations are performed in the time domain with the installation site’s waves as input. The hydrodynamics parameters are computed thanks to the commercial software Ansys Aqwa and given to the model as input. The yearly energy production is computed as output for each configuration. Several parametric analyses are performed to identify the optimal Power Take Off (PTO) and buoy size. Among the main findings, it shall be mentioned that the PTO-rated torque has a strong influence on the energy production, higher PTO-rated torque proved to have better performance. The optimal hull size is strictly related to the incoming waves, and for the given site the smaller hulls are performing better than larger ones. The hull height, hull mass and hull draft have little impact on productivity. Finally, a comprehensive techno–economic analysis is performed, showing that the best configuration can be identified only after a detailed feasibility study and rigorous cost analysis.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-Cost Heaving Single-Buoy Wave-Energy Point Absorber Optimization for Sardinia West Coast

Rava

Dafnakis

Martini

et al. 2022

JMSE

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“…Wave energy is widely distributed and has high energy density. It is a relatively untapped resource and has considerable potential for addressing both carbon‐reduction objectives and the increasing energy demand 1 . Wave resources are in the range of 1 to 10 TW 2 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is a relatively untapped resource and has considerable potential for addressing both carbon-reduction objectives and the increasing energy demand. 1 Wave resources are in the range of 1 to 10 TW. 2 Wave energy converter (WEC) devices have been developed and put into operation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of energy‐capture performance of point‐absorber wave energy converter

Zhang

Deng

et al. 2022

Intl J of Energy Research

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An optimization process is proposed for improving the energy-harvesting efficiency of the point-absorber wave energy converter (WEC) and thus enhancing the utilization of wave energy resources. The multidisciplinary design optimization integration system ISIGHT is adopted to establish an optimization design flow for the shape parameters of the point-absorber WEC. The motion equations of the point-absorber WEC are established according to the potential flow theory, and the wave energy capture capacity per unit is calculated. Considering it as the objective, the point-absorber WEC is modified to improve the energy-capture efficiency by using an optimization function in an approximation model. A comparison indicates that a cylindrical-bottom point-absorber WEC with a diameter of 7 m, draft of 1.8 m, and damping factor of 31 150 NsÁm À1 has the optimal performance and the maximum energy capture capacity. The energy-capture performance of the WEC can be significantly enhanced through this optimization method.

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“…In general, WECs have yet to reach the level of commercial viability that would guarantee their competitiveness with alternative energy sources, especially in the absence of synergetic technologies with the potential for hybridization and/or co-location (Foteinis and Tsoutsos, 2017;Clemente et al, 2021;Petracca et al, 2022). Moreover, despite the considerable efforts in research and development, technological convergence (i.e., a shift towards a common "optimal" design on which to concentrate future research) is yet to be achieved (Hannon et al, 2017;Guo and Ringwood, 2021). One of the reasons for such diversity of WEC concepts is the significant temporal variability of wave energy, ranging from seconds to decades, and making it difficult to focus on a limited range of sea states for WEC optimization, in terms of PTO (Power Take Off), control, survivability, and power prediction and management (Guo and Ringwood, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, despite the considerable efforts in research and development, technological convergence (i.e., a shift towards a common "optimal" design on which to concentrate future research) is yet to be achieved (Hannon et al, 2017;Guo and Ringwood, 2021). One of the reasons for such diversity of WEC concepts is the significant temporal variability of wave energy, ranging from seconds to decades, and making it difficult to focus on a limited range of sea states for WEC optimization, in terms of PTO (Power Take Off), control, survivability, and power prediction and management (Guo and Ringwood, 2021). The current variety of technological options has in fact contributed to delaying the operative exploitation of WECs, through the resulting (i) lack of an adaptable taxonomy that is both analytical and capable of accommodating future technologies, (ii) absence of an agreed coherent and flexible cross-scale method to select optimal locations, from the initial large scale studies for generic feasibility assessments to the effective identification and quantification of costs and trade-offs across the installation, operativity and dismissal phases of a WEC farm, and (iii) difficulty to define a systematic site-technology matching procedure that allows the identification of the best devices to be deployed in a specific location (Bertram et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploitation of an operative wave forecast system for energy resource assessment in the Mediterranean Sea

2022

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Ocean Energy is now emerging as a viable long-term form of renewable energy, which might contribute around 10% of EU power demand by 2050, if sufficient support is guaranteed along its road to full commercialization, allowing to further demonstrate the reliability, robustness and overall economic competitiveness of technologies. Although wave energy is still less developed than other marine renewables, its high density, great potential and minimal environmental impact have renewed the interest of developers, investors and governments globally, also in view of the increasing awareness of climate change and of the necessity to reduce carbon emissions. In parallel with technological development, the reliable characterization of wave climate and of the associated energy resource is crucial to the design of efficient Wave Energy Converters and to an effective site-technology matching, especially in low-energy seas. The preliminary scrutiny of suitable technologies and the identification of promising sites for their deployment often rely on wave climatological atlases, yet a more detailed characterization of the local resource is needed to account for high-frequency spatial and temporal variability that significantly impact power generation and the economic viability of WEC farms. We present a high-resolution assessment of the wave energy resource at specific locations in the Mediterranean Sea, based on a 7-years dataset derived from the operative wave forecast system that has been developed at ENEA and has been running since 2013. The selected areas correspond to the target regions of the Blue Deal project, where energy resource estimates were combined with technical and environmental considerations, so as to identify optimal sites for Blue Energy exploitation, from a Maritime Spatial Planning perspective. The available resource at selected sites is analysed together with site theoretical productivity for three state-of-the art WECs, showing interesting potential for future deployment.

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A review of wave energy technology from a research and commercial perspective

Cited by 98 publications

References 211 publications

Low-Cost Heaving Single-Buoy Wave-Energy Point Absorber Optimization for Sardinia West Coast

Low-Cost Heaving Single-Buoy Wave-Energy Point Absorber Optimization for Sardinia West Coast

Optimization of energy‐capture performance of point‐absorber wave energy converter

Exploitation of an operative wave forecast system for energy resource assessment in the Mediterranean Sea

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