Wave energy prototype set for capital coast

Tuesday 19th April 2011 2 Comments

A prototype of a marine generator producing up to 20kw of electricity from waves will be anchored to the seafloor off Moa Point, on Wellington's south coast, later this year.

The half-size prototype of a device expected to be produced for wave power "farms" around New Zealand coasts has been built by Stark Brothers in Christchurch, partly funded a $760,000 government grant.

It is expected to be tested off Akaroa, and then shipped north for installation in June, state science company IRL said today.

The machine is anchored to the sea floor and harvests energy from the water movement - through the use of an on-board hydraulic system - to generate electricity. The technology has been protected by international patent applications, including an application in the United States, and a patent has already been granted in New Zealand.

IRL will ship another set of control and hydraulic components to the United States to be installed in an American prototype built to IRL's design, which will be anchored to the seabed off the Oregon coast. The US Government has already invested US$2 million (NZ$2.5 million) in that device, through North West Energy Innovations based in Oregon.

"We anticipate that once these devices have proven themselves under the strict US Department of Energy review processes then licences for the wave energy converter will be signed," IRL deputy chief executive Drew Stein said today.

"Future sales are predicted to be worth hundreds of million of dollars to the New Zealand economy."

Wave Energy Technology NZ - a collaboration between IRL (83.8%) and private-sector company Power Projects Ltd (16.2%) - has trialed wave-powered generators anchored off Taylor's Mistake at Christchurch, and a quarter-size machine designed to generate 2kW of electricity ran for 90 days with no down-time.

"IRL is anticipating all design, control and hydraulic components will be manufactured by New Zealand companies and exported around the world," Stein said.

"Green energy has never been more economically important nor in more demand and therefore there is a ready-made market for this type of electricity generating device."

The design has already been certified by an international verification agency, Det Norske Veritas, for having a robust design which can cope with the stresses of being pounded by waves for years on end.

Power Projects director John Huckerby said the waves around New Zealand's coast could produce more than 40 times as much energy as the country's existing power consumption and the devices could be moored in water 30m-50m deep at sites ranging from the bottom of the South Island up the west coast almost to Cape Reinga.

They could generate electricity close to the coastal population centres, with peak production from winter storms, just when electricity demand was highest.

Wave energy could help offset not only the country's "dry-year risk" for hydro-electricity but on some sites would keep producing from oceanic swells even when wind turbines were not generating because of a lack of wind.

NZPA

Comments from our readers

On 20 April 2011 at 12:06 pm M Brown said:

I first heard of production of electricity by wave power in the early 1950's. Why so long to get underway ?

On 21 April 2011 at 1:02 pm James said:

Two words - 'Big Oil'