Direct Drive Power Buoy

The extraction of electrical energy from ocean waves will make a major contribution to the generation mix by a renewable source which has little impact on the environment. This requires a complex generating system, the key subsystem of which converts the linear motion of waves into electricity. The project improves that subsystem, thereby making wave energy competitive sooner. The research team is evaluating alternative direct drive generating approaches for wave energy extraction buoys. It will select the best, implement the best as an advanced prototype, and then test it in a wave tank and the ocean. The research team investigated and evaluated a variety of promising alternative approaches through modeling and the testing of prototype hardware in the lab and a wave tank. Extensive information was obtained for each, but in some cases, further work needs to be done to select a single best approach. New approaches were identified as promising and some were eliminated from further consideration. The approaches which survived the Phase I evaluation will be further evaluated through modeling and the testing of more advanced prototypes in the lab and wave tank. The best will be selected, implemented in an even more advanced prototype, and then tested in a wave tank and finally the ocean at the Oregon coast. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The project will dramatically improve wave energy systems, which will provide electrical energy with all of the benefits of a renewable source, namely, no fuel, no effluent, no fuel-related cost instability, little environmental impact and a reduction in the dependence on foreign fuel sources. The applications include utility-scale generation facilities, plus certain military applications, such as the powering of unmanned water vehicles and coastal defense systems.