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Site visit: Preparing wave energy farms of the future

A wave energy device is earning its stripes by proving it can survive at sea, and by showing it is ready for commercial, utility-scale energy generation.
Site visit: Preparing wave energy farms of the future

A wave energy device is earning its stripes by proving it can survive at sea, and by showing it is ready for commercial, utility-scale energy generation.

Stockholm-headquartered CorPower Ocean is developing this technology and testing it in waters off Portugal’s northern coast.

Enlit on the Road visited CorPower Ocean’s test site in Viana do Castelo and spoke to the company’s managing director, Miguel Silva, to learn more about the technology, the lessons they have learned on the development path and why Portugal makes for the perfect test site.

Portugal – the perfect testing waters

Portugal has a historic correlation with wave energy, which began in the 1970s. Not only is there a dedicated testing ground at Aguçadoura, which provides the physical framework required, but there is also the regulatory framework and a supportive community, all of which are needed for developing and testing wave energy devices.

CorPower Ocean, as well as other companies like Windfloat, has benefited from this ecosystem to refine their wave energy technologies.

Commented Silva, “There’s basically a very positive ecosystem where this kind of work can be done. We decided to seat our base here in Viana do Castelo, because we had huge support from the local municipality. We have Windfloat just 18 kilometers from shore…they tested their scaled model in Aguçadoura for five years with huge success…this is the path that we want to emulate.”

The pivotal role of wave energy

Silva emphasizes that wave energy has a critical contribution to a 24/7 renewable energy system, because it offers a complementary baseload profile that can be combined with other renewable sources. The combination of sources offers greater stability to the grid, especially important for energy-intensive industries.

Also, wave energy holds promise in terms of colocation with floating offshore wind.

According to Silva, “Colocation with wave becomes one of the options for the floating offshore wind promoters and the developers to maximize the existing space and to obtain a better production profile from that wind farm. This gives security to the grid, less installations, less investments on grid.”

Silva believes that in time, people will understand the “great business case for wave energy,” even without floating offshore wind.

However, to prove this business case, Silva explains that the technology needs time in the water to prove itself, to show it’s a safe investment and yield what it’s promised.

“As any emerging technology, we need time, in our case, volume: number of units, to get it to the right cost level. And to compete for the same financing lines at the banks or institutions as solar and wind is doing right now”.

CorPower is making waves

Over the past few years, Corpower Ocean has achieved impressive results from its various phases of testing. The focus of these tests has been to improve cost efficiency and survivability of the device.

“That was proven last year in November during the four storms that we got here in Portugal, where our survivability technology was tested, and yielded very positive results.”

The four storms resulted in waves close to 19 meters high which lasted for several days.

Silva explains that the survivability mode was proven during this extreme weather. It’s accomplished by a system of wave springs, that allow the buoy to be tuned or de-tune to the incoming wave. The system will be de-tuned when waves are above eight meters, and be put into a transparent mode with smaller waves.

Besides survivability, the team has also managed to lower costs. To lower the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE), a composite hull was used in the C4 machine, rather than steel which is more prone to material price fluctuations, said Silva. Also, fully automated processes to manufacture resin and fiberglass made the process more efficient, reducing LCOE by 70%.

And finally, these tests proved power production, because power is now being injected into the Portuguese grid for the first time.

Secrets to success

Firstly, Silva points to effective public engagement as a critical element, as well as engaging with possible customers, academia, companies, and fisherman and local communities.

He also stressed the importance of working in a structured way, moving from one technology readiness level to the next only when all the boxes have been checked.

If we don’t find the right solution in the market, we stop and think about the right solution…step to step, very structurally, approaching all the issues that come up, turning that into an opportunity by solving the problem.

And the success achieved thus far is only the start. CorPower will now be working on stage five of their project. This will see machines, a collection hub, and submarine grid installed in Aguçadoura, in Póvoa de Varzim. The plan is to demonstrate an array of devices, or CorPack, up to 1.2MW installed.

The team will also continue working on their first commercial wave farm, emphasizing a message for the investors and promoters that “the time is now to get together with us and prepare the next wave farms for the future.”

Originally published in enlit.world.