The new wave
Vigor Wave Energy has developed a new concept to convert wave energy into electricity.
Go with the flow: Vigor produces energy on the waves' own terms. (All images: Vigor Wave Energy AB)
Wave energy is a powerful renewable energy source, but sometimes the harsh marine environment is simply too powerful. To collect energy, wave power devices need one part that moves relative to another. This is usually solved by letting one part be fixed to the sea floor or the shore, and another part be moved by the waves. This makes them less flexible, and many wave power plants have been crushed by unexpectedly strong waves.
Some try to solve this by further strengthening their installations. Others, like the inventors of Swedish Vigor Wave Energy Converter, would rather work with the waves than against them. Their solution is to make the device as smooth as possible, reacting against the next wave instead of a fixed, stable part.
The Vigor Wave consists of a long hose floating on the surface. Following the motion of the waves, the open end will dip up and down, swallowing batches of water that are then pushed through the hose by the next waves. Every wave adds more energy to the water, until it enters a turbine at the other end of the hose to produce electricity. As the system mainly consists of water and air moving relative to each other, it should be able to handle even the hardest winter storms. After all, water and air are hard to break.
The principle can be easily scaled, and installed in a wide range of depths and sea bed conditions. As it's not dependent on the direction of the waves, it works in all kinds of wave climates. It's based on existing technologies and cheap materials, and will likely have low installation and maintenance costs.
Vigor Wave is still in the development phase. Small scale tests have been conducted since 2005, and 2011 will be used for further testing in a specially designed wave basin at the Chalmers University in Gothenburg. Results this far indicate that a single 400 m hose could generate 6 MW, which is very high compared to other wave energy concepts. By combining several hoses at one coherent unit, it could produce up to 100 MW per turbine and generator, enough to power about 30 000 houses at maximum output. The first prototype will be ready for the ocean in 2012, and the inventors hope to install and verify a full-scale, functional unit in a harsh ocean environment within 7 years.
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