Flexible OWC (FlexOWC) Integrated Breakwater with Advanced Controls

Ocean wave energy is a potential source of renewable energy that remains essentially untapped. Wave energy offers significant advantages over solar and wind renewable resources. The problem is that electric power harvested from wave energy is not yet economically/commercially practical enough for widespread use. One solution to reduce wave energy costs is to develop wave generation devices using Oscillating Water Column (OWC) technology Integrated into a coastal structure. The significant advantage of an OWC wave energy device is that it does not have any moving parts underwater. Maintenance costs are a major factor in estimating the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) in a marine, corrosive, and turbulent ocean environment. In this Fast-Track SBIR project we will pursue novel design advances to the OWC to achieve significantly better performance at a much lower cost. The overall objective of the Fast-Track project is to develop, demonstrate and validate a low- maintenance, wave energy converter device (low-LCOE Coastal Structure Integrated Wave Energy Convertor (CSI-WEC) that will produce electric power at a lower cost compared to that of a standard device of the same size. The cost reduction will be achieved through the development of an innovative new design for the CSI-WEC, enabling harvesting power at a larger bandwidth compared to standard rigid devices of the same size. Generating more power using the same standard device (at almost the same device cost) will translate into a lower cost per unit electric power produced compared to current technology. In Phase I, we will validate the design feasibility of a low-maintenance (no moving parts under water), low-LCOE Coastal Structure Integrated Wave Energy Convertor (CSI-WEC). In the larger Phase II project, we will improve upon the novel design, will validate the novel wave energy generation device, and will incorporate structural design in addition to wave-absorption design. Future applications and public benefits of this project are carried over into Phase IIA/IIB, Phase IIC, or Phase III and beyond and have significant scale-up and expansion potential. This technology will enable the harvesting of significant amounts of energy from ocean waves and the production of electric power at a lower cost than is currently possible, making wave technology competitive with other forms of renewable energy (e.g., wind and solar). Though the market size is estimated to be $600M by 2025, this market has the potential for explosive growth if its cost can be brought in line with commercially available alternatives. Results of this Fast-Track project will enable other opportunities for future applications, such as greater ocean data collection, and will provide public benefits such as increased job creation and a new, cost-effective source of renewable energy generation that can help reduce the demand for fossil-fuel energy options. Summary for Members of Congress: The future of renewable energy may be found in ocean waves, but significant technical/economic advances must still be made to make this opportunity a reality. This Fast-Track project addresses a key DOE topic area and is focused on developing and validating a next-generation wave energy converter device that will cost-effectively produce abundant electric power for use at a lower cost compared to that of a standard wave energy converter device.