Marine Energy

Portuguese waves promise big gains for Eco Wave Power

Portuguese waves promise big gains for Eco Wave Power

Portugal is described as a country with some of the best wave resources in the world, and Eco Wave Power is planning to tap this resource for its Porto-based commercial-sized project.

Big waves, a long coastline and an easy-to-navigate regulatory framework are a winning combination, according to Inna Braverman, founder and chief executive officer of Stockholm-headquartered Eco Wave Power, who describes Portugal as an attractive location for their upcoming project.

To showcase what their kit can do, Braverman and her team are planning construction of a commercial-scale wave energy project in the Portuguese city of Porto.

The final approval has been granted by the APDL Port Authority allowing for the construction works to start, and Eco Wave Power has issued a performance bond committing to finishing the project within two years.

“We believe this will be the first wave energy project in the world to show significant energy production from the power of the waves,” said Braverman.

Braverman explains that they will start construction on 1 MW of the 20 MW project, due to legislation that is unique to Portugal. “Portugal has a special regulatory scheme for power stations of up to 1 MW, allowing access to licensing in under six months. You can move into construction quickly and then while you’re in construction already, begin licensing the rest of the megawatts.”

The Porto project will be situated at a breakwater jetty called Barra do Douro pier, at the mouth of the Douro River. The unique feature of this project is the 300 m2 room underwater, which will be available to the public once the power station is opened.

“We’re planning to turn it into a kind of marine museum, where people can see the electricity produced from waves,” Braverman said.

Integrating wave energy converters

Braverman said the company’s technology uses floaters that can be integrated into existing marine structures owned by ports and coastal cities, like breakwaters, piers or jetties. “You can just plug into what’s already there,” which delivers some tangible advantages, said Braverman.

She adds that attaching to existing infrastructure saves on costs because nothing new needs to be built out in the ocean, as opposed to offshore technologies that require specialized ships, mooring and cables, etc.

Also, this adds to the survivability of the equipment, she explains. “[This] significantly brings up the reliability and survivability of the equipment because you can use that marine structure to hide your equipment in case of stormy weather, which happens quite often in Portugal.”

Also, attaching the floaters on a breakwater inside or close to a port facilitates connection to the grid. Adds Braverman, “The grid connection line will be extremely short because you’re located close to an area that needs a lot of power. So it’s not like running a cable underwater in the middle of the ocean and trying to connect it to some substation on shore.”

And the best part, says Braverman, is that there is no impact on the seabed. The floaters merely make use of infrastructure already there, turning an eyesore into something that produces clean electricity.

Headwinds in wave energy

While Braverman emphasizes the ease with which their technology can be deployed, she does highlight challenges that make navigating the sector quite tricky, whether in Portugal or other international waters.

“Israel has no regulation for wave energy and when we brought our equipment to the port of Los Angeles, we faced a lack of regulation too,” she said. A lack of supporting policy means projects can take as long as three years to license, depending on the priority given by legislators, and as little as six months to build.

Braverman highlighted that gaining the correct licenses or confirming the feed-in tariff can be complex, even though the technology is simple.

Another challenge is the lack of debt financing, especially for a new technology aiming for commercial operation. “Right now, we’re building most of our pilot stations and power stations either with equity, which is the most expensive type of funding or with grants, which are not always available. Or we use strategic collaborations like the 50/50 joint venture with EDF for our project in Jaffa, Israel, or with Shell in Los Angeles. You have to be creative in your funding and [sometimes] you can’t go as fast as you would like to.”

Courage paying off

Braverman started Eco Wave Power 13 years ago. It has taken time and patience to gain momentum but it’s paying off. The company is now publicly traded on Nasdaq (Symbol: WAVE) and is promoting its newest projects in Portugal and the Port of LA.

“I feel that I’m achieving something that the world wanted to achieve for a long time,” Braverman said. “When I opened the company, everybody said wave energy is amazing, it can produce twice the amount of energy that the world produces now, [but] I couldn’t figure out why no one was doing it.”

Braverman didn’t have a technical background, had access to few resources, and as a woman in a male-dominated industry, she faced many doubts and challenges in the beginning.

“It’s been great to prove them wrong…and I feel like I’m leaving a kind of legacy.”

Braverman emphasizes that she believes Eco Power is doing important work and is keen to share their learnings to help others avoid the same mistakes.

And while wave energy is still not yet accepted on a grand scale, perceptions are changing, and she is hoping to see a greater uptake in her lifetime, in Portugal and beyond.

Eco Wave Power is one of many companies making waves in Portugal’s energy ecosystem. Learn more about how this small country is making significant strides in its energy transition, by visiting Enlit on the road Portugal.

This article was originally published on Power Engineering International.