Wave farm
Encyclopedia
A wave farm or wave power farm is a collection of machines in the same location and used for the generation
of wave power
electricity
.
north of Oporto in Portugal
. The farm used three Pelamis
wave energy converters to convert the motion of the ocean surface wave
s into electricity, totalling to 2.25MW in total installed capacity. The farm first generated electricity into the Portuguese grid in July 2008 and was officially opened on the 23rd of September 2008, by the Portuguese Minister of Economy. The wave farm was shut down two months after the official opening in November 2008 due to technical problems with the machines.
was announced on February 20, 2007 by the Scottish Executive
, at a cost of over £
4 million, as part of a £13 million funding packages for marine power in Scotland. The farm will be the world's largest with a capacity of 3MW generated by four Pelamis machines. See also: Renewable energy in Scotland
.
Funding for a wave farm known as Wave hub
off the north coast of Cornwall
, England
was approved in June 2007. The Wave hub
operates as an extension cable allowing developers to install and operate wave energy generating devices while keeping down connection costs. Four device operators have expressed an interest in using the site which will initially allow up to 20MW of wave energy capacity.
coast for the production of electricity from wave energy. Although this is the case, according to the president of trade association Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition, “The total potential off the coast of the United States is 252 million megawatt hours a year.” Despite the absence of current implementation of major projects, there has been significant investment on the part of public utility companies and federal funds for the implementation and economic viability of two new wave power energy centers as of September 30, 2008.
On December 18, 2007 the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, the largest national utility company, announced a commercial agreement to purchase power generated by wave energy. This decision was made in part to be competitive in the public electrical energy market in the state of California under stringent renewable energy
restrictions. Currently, California state law requires that publicly owned utilities are required to generate 20% of their electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and wave power by 2010. After the General Election on November 4, 2008 this law may be subject to change to an even more stringent law, which states that publicly owned utilities would be required to increase their proportion of electricity from renewable resources to 20% by 2010, 40% by 2020 and 50% by 2025.
Federally, under the Marine Renewable Energy Research and Development Act of 2007 the United States has committed $200 million in federal funds toward wave energy technology to be allocated from 2008 through 2012. The United States Department of Energy
(DOE) is currently responsible for the allocation of $50 million per fiscal year for research, development, demonstration and commercial application of ocean energy. In 2008, the first year of federal allocation toward wave energy, there are a total of fourteen recipients. The most notable recipients of this year include Oregon State University and the University of Hawaii. Oregon State University in partnership with the University of Washington, will implement the development of the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center for wave and tidal energy. The second recipient, University of Hawaii will develop and implement the National Renewable Marine Energy Center in Hawaii.
The Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Company of Seattle has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
for permits to harness energy from waves off the coastline of California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. The $28 billion project would be the largest renewable energy project in the nation.
Generation
Generation , also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring....
of wave power
Wave power
Wave power is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and the capture of that energy to do useful work — for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or the pumping of water...
electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
.
Portugal
The Aguçadoura Wave Farm was the world's first commercial-scale wave farm. It was located 5 km (3 mi) offshore near Póvoa de VarzimPóvoa de Varzim
Póvoa de Varzim is a Portuguese city in the Norte Region and sub-region of Greater Porto, with a 2011 estimated population of 63,364. According to the 2001 census, there were 63,470 inhabitants with 42,396 living in the city proper. The urban area expanded, southwards, to Vila do Conde, and there...
north of Oporto in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. The farm used three Pelamis
Pelamis wave energy converter
The Pelamis Wave Energy Converter is a technology that uses the motion of ocean surface waves to create electricity. The machine is made up of connected sections which flex and bend as waves pass; it is this motion which is used to generate electricity....
wave energy converters to convert the motion of the ocean surface wave
Ocean surface wave
In fluid dynamics, wind waves or, more precisely, wind-generated waves are surface waves that occur on the free surface of oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and canals or even on small puddles and ponds. They usually result from the wind blowing over a vast enough stretch of fluid surface. Waves in the...
s into electricity, totalling to 2.25MW in total installed capacity. The farm first generated electricity into the Portuguese grid in July 2008 and was officially opened on the 23rd of September 2008, by the Portuguese Minister of Economy. The wave farm was shut down two months after the official opening in November 2008 due to technical problems with the machines.
United Kingdom
Funding for a wave farm in ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
was announced on February 20, 2007 by the Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
, at a cost of over £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
4 million, as part of a £13 million funding packages for marine power in Scotland. The farm will be the world's largest with a capacity of 3MW generated by four Pelamis machines. See also: Renewable energy in Scotland
Renewable energy in Scotland
The production of renewable energy in Scotland is an issue that has come to the fore in technical, economic, and political terms during the opening years of the 21st century. The natural resource base for renewables is extraordinary by European, and even global standards...
.
Funding for a wave farm known as Wave hub
Wave hub
The Wave Hub is a wave power research project. The project is developed approximately off Hayle, on the north coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The hub is a 'socket' sitting on the seabed for wave energy converters to be plugged into; it will have connections to it from arrays of four kinds of...
off the north coast of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
was approved in June 2007. The Wave hub
Wave hub
The Wave Hub is a wave power research project. The project is developed approximately off Hayle, on the north coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The hub is a 'socket' sitting on the seabed for wave energy converters to be plugged into; it will have connections to it from arrays of four kinds of...
operates as an extension cable allowing developers to install and operate wave energy generating devices while keeping down connection costs. Four device operators have expressed an interest in using the site which will initially allow up to 20MW of wave energy capacity.
United States
There are no major wave farms off of the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
coast for the production of electricity from wave energy. Although this is the case, according to the president of trade association Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition, “The total potential off the coast of the United States is 252 million megawatt hours a year.” Despite the absence of current implementation of major projects, there has been significant investment on the part of public utility companies and federal funds for the implementation and economic viability of two new wave power energy centers as of September 30, 2008.
On December 18, 2007 the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, the largest national utility company, announced a commercial agreement to purchase power generated by wave energy. This decision was made in part to be competitive in the public electrical energy market in the state of California under stringent renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
restrictions. Currently, California state law requires that publicly owned utilities are required to generate 20% of their electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and wave power by 2010. After the General Election on November 4, 2008 this law may be subject to change to an even more stringent law, which states that publicly owned utilities would be required to increase their proportion of electricity from renewable resources to 20% by 2010, 40% by 2020 and 50% by 2025.
Federally, under the Marine Renewable Energy Research and Development Act of 2007 the United States has committed $200 million in federal funds toward wave energy technology to be allocated from 2008 through 2012. The United States Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
(DOE) is currently responsible for the allocation of $50 million per fiscal year for research, development, demonstration and commercial application of ocean energy. In 2008, the first year of federal allocation toward wave energy, there are a total of fourteen recipients. The most notable recipients of this year include Oregon State University and the University of Hawaii. Oregon State University in partnership with the University of Washington, will implement the development of the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center for wave and tidal energy. The second recipient, University of Hawaii will develop and implement the National Renewable Marine Energy Center in Hawaii.
The Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Company of Seattle has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is the United States federal agency with jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, wholesale electric rates, hydroelectric licensing, natural gas pricing, and oil pipeline rates...
for permits to harness energy from waves off the coastline of California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. The $28 billion project would be the largest renewable energy project in the nation.
See also
- Wave powerWave powerWave power is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and the capture of that energy to do useful work — for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or the pumping of water...
- Wind powerWind powerWind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
- Solar powerSolar powerSolar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
- HydroelectricityHydroelectricityHydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
- Tidal powerTidal powerTidal power, also called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into useful forms of power - mainly electricity....
- Ocean thermal energy conversionOcean thermal energy conversionOcean Thermal Energy Conversion uses the difference between cooler deep and warmer shallow or surface ocean waters to run a heat engine and produce useful work, usually in the form of electricity....
- Geothermal powerGeothermal powerGeothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. Earth's geothermal energy originates from the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of minerals...
- Biofuels
- Marine current powerMarine current powerMarine current power is a form of marine energy obtained from harnessing of the kinetic energy of marine currents, such as the Gulf stream. Although not widely used at present, marine current power has an important potential for future electricity generation...
- :Category:Renewable energy by country