Pelamis wave energy converter
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The Pelamis Wave Energy Converter is a new technology that uses the motion of ocean surface waves to create electricity. The first prototype was installed at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, Scotland, and officially opened on 28 September 2007.[1]
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[edit] Wave farms
Aguçadora Wave Park, the first commercial wave farm using this technology was to be installed in 2006 off the coast of Portugal near the city of Póvoa de Varzim. According to the company website ,construction is going on as of 2008 [1]. No reason has been forthcoming for the delays. This wave farm is supposed to use three Pelamis P-750 machines with a capacity of 2.25 megawatts. It is likely to be expanded to eventually provide enough power for 1,500 households. The first twelve tube sections were constructed at the Arnish manufacturing site, on the Isle of Lewis by the Scottish company Pelamis Wave Power Ltd (formerly known as Ocean Power Delivery [2]) while the remaining will be constructed in Portugal.
Funding for Scotland's first wave farm was announced by the Scottish Executive on February 22, 2007. It will be the world's largest, with a capacity of 3 MW generated by four Pelamis machines and a cost of over £4 million.[2] The funding is part of a new £13 million funding package for marine power in Scotland.
Pelamis Wave Power has also expressed an interest in installing Pelamis devices at the Wave hub development off the north coast of Cornwall, in England.
[edit] Principles
The Pelamis is an attenuating wave device designed for survivability at sea rather than highly efficient energy conversion. This means that rather than absorbing all of the energy available in a wave, it converts only a portion of that energy to electricity. This is principally so that the device can survive in dangerous storm conditions which could do considerable damage to a wave device attempting to absorb all the available energy.
[edit] Operation
The Pelamis device consists of a series of semi-submerged cylindrical sections linked by hinged joints. The wave-induced relative motion of these sections is resisted by hydraulic rams which pump high pressure oil through hydraulic motors via smoothing hydraulic accumulators. The hydraulic motors drive electrical generators to produce electricity. Power from all the joints is fed down a single umbilical cable to a junction on the sea bed. Several devices can be connected together and linked to shore through a single seabed cable.
[edit] Etymology
Pelamis platurus is a yellow-bellied sea snake that lives in tropical and subtropical waters. It prefers shallow inshore waters.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Orkney tidal power plans unveiled", BBC News Scotland, 2007-09-28.
- ^ "Orkney to get 'biggest' wave farm", BBC News Scotland, 2007-02-20.
[edit] Other sources
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6377423.stm
- http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/30917/story.htm
- Pelamis Wave Power Ltd.
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