OrcaFlex - Engineering Department

OrcaFlex
(latest release v9.3, Aug-09)
3. Problems and Solutions
Modeling wave power extraction devices will help
engineers identify the best designs (MIT Dec 2009)
PROBLEM
• Ocean waves could theoretically generate an estimated 10 to
100 megawatts of renewable energy per kilometer of coastline.
Several pilot installations already harvest wave power, and the
first commercial wave farm began operating off the coast of
Portugal in 2008, but has since been put on hold.
• Many wave-energy device designs involve floating buoys that
bob in the waves to capture mechanical energy. The buoys’
bobbing motion acts like a piston, moving a magnet or activating
a hydraulic system that generates electricity. Designs include
large single-buoy units and arrays of units of many small buoys.
• Determining which design extracts the most energy from a
broad range of wave frequencies that vary widely in time,
and finding the optimal spacing and deployment of units
present major challenges to widespread development of
wave-energy extraction devices.
www.orcina.com Slide 30 of 40