07-02-2017, 03:20 PM
Broad and reliable wave energy has long been considered as one of the most promising renewable energy sources. Wave energy converters (WEC) convert wave energy into electricity. Although attempts to use this resource go back to at least 1890, wave energy is not currently widely used (Miller, 2004). The plethora of innovative ideas for wave energy conversion have been invented over the last three decades, resulting in thousands of patents in recent years. At present, a number of different concepts of wave energy are being investigated by companies and academic research groups around the world. Although many work designs have been developed and tested through modelling tests and corrugated tanks, only a few concepts have advanced to sea trials. However, rapidly decreasing costs should allow wave plants to compete favourably with conventional power plants in the near future.
Global demand for electricity will double over the next 20 years,therefore one of the major engineering challenges of the 21st century is meeting the growing global demand for energy especially in the coasts, as migration is likely to double the population. In this area by 2025, The ocean is a large relatively unexplored renewable energy resource. The British Department of Trade and Industry has stated that there are at least 90 million gigawatts of energy in wind-driven waves worldwide. This can be compared to the 15 thousand gigawatts of energy consumed around the world. According to the London's Carbon Trust, wave energy can realistically provide more than 2,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity per year around 10% of global electricity needs and eventually generate revenues from energy sales Wholesale of more than 50,000 million dollars a year. However, according to the Electric Energy Research Institute (EPRI) in Palo Alto, CA, a realistic estimate of the energy potential of ocean waves in the United States indicates approximately 6% of total energy needs.
Although still in the early stages of development, wave energy can and will provide sufficient energy to supply a substantial part of the world's energy demand. The wave energy industry is sometimes compared to the wind power industry some 25 years ago when there was neither a single design nor a universal agreement in its future path. The wind industry has converged to a unique design in the last quarter of a century and is now a major player in the energy industry. Having learned from the evolution of wind power, the energy of the waves is expected to come into play in a much shorter time period.
Ocean waves are a huge resource of untapped energy, the potential to draw energy from the waves is considerable. Research in this area is driven by the need to meet renewable energy targets, but is relatively immature compared to other renewable energy technologies. This review introduces the general state of wave energy and evaluates the types of devices that represent the current wave energy converter (WEC) technology, focusing particularly on the work being done in the UK. Potential power take-off systems are identified, followed by a consideration of some of the control strategies to improve the efficiency of WECs of the point absorber type. There is a lack of convergence in the best method of energy extraction of the waves and, although the previous innovation has generally focused on the concept and design of the primary interface, questions arise about the best way to optimise the power train.
Global demand for electricity will double over the next 20 years,therefore one of the major engineering challenges of the 21st century is meeting the growing global demand for energy especially in the coasts, as migration is likely to double the population. In this area by 2025, The ocean is a large relatively unexplored renewable energy resource. The British Department of Trade and Industry has stated that there are at least 90 million gigawatts of energy in wind-driven waves worldwide. This can be compared to the 15 thousand gigawatts of energy consumed around the world. According to the London's Carbon Trust, wave energy can realistically provide more than 2,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity per year around 10% of global electricity needs and eventually generate revenues from energy sales Wholesale of more than 50,000 million dollars a year. However, according to the Electric Energy Research Institute (EPRI) in Palo Alto, CA, a realistic estimate of the energy potential of ocean waves in the United States indicates approximately 6% of total energy needs.
Although still in the early stages of development, wave energy can and will provide sufficient energy to supply a substantial part of the world's energy demand. The wave energy industry is sometimes compared to the wind power industry some 25 years ago when there was neither a single design nor a universal agreement in its future path. The wind industry has converged to a unique design in the last quarter of a century and is now a major player in the energy industry. Having learned from the evolution of wind power, the energy of the waves is expected to come into play in a much shorter time period.
Ocean waves are a huge resource of untapped energy, the potential to draw energy from the waves is considerable. Research in this area is driven by the need to meet renewable energy targets, but is relatively immature compared to other renewable energy technologies. This review introduces the general state of wave energy and evaluates the types of devices that represent the current wave energy converter (WEC) technology, focusing particularly on the work being done in the UK. Potential power take-off systems are identified, followed by a consideration of some of the control strategies to improve the efficiency of WECs of the point absorber type. There is a lack of convergence in the best method of energy extraction of the waves and, although the previous innovation has generally focused on the concept and design of the primary interface, questions arise about the best way to optimise the power train.