Thread: Wave Power

Well, I hope they succeed, alllllll the way.

I cant see why it won't work having watched their video.
But I still cant help but wonder why they can't design something that can float on the water to do the same/similar thing. Some kind of massive barge with a big water wheel type thingy on it To me, this would help immensely with maintenance issues, which would be a major problem whilst the unit is actually under water. Although, having said that, being in only 30-50mts of water, it should be easier to pull up and fix if need be.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

The ocean is a very hostile environment for any engineering operation, especially where there is a lot of wave energy, and all previous efforts at recovering wave energy have failed due to either high maintenance or damage due to extreme weather.

Which is a pity, since the west coast of Victoria is a place where wave energy could in theory provide large quantities of energy 24/7, unlike solar or wind.

John

Another pilot plant has been running a little while now.
Carnegie Wave Energy - Perth Project

Unfortunately, solar and wind do not supply reliable 24/7 power. I work very close to a wind farm. Monday morning, early, way before the solar panels were producing, the wind farm turbines, all 100 of them, were motionless. Not a breath of wind.
Good job we had the coal burners running. It was a cool morning.

Originally Posted by Chops

.....
But I still cant help but wonder why they can't design something that can float on the water to do the same/similar thing. Some kind of massive barge with a big water wheel type thingy on it To me, this would help immensely with maintenance issues, which would be a major problem whilst the unit is actually under water. Although, having said that, being in only 30-50mts of water, it should be easier to pull up and fix if need be.

Going below the surface is almost certainly a decision made to sidestep the major damage that can result from severe weather events. And will probably reduce the need for maintenance, as most of the problems, from corrosion to marine life growth, are worst at the water/air interface. But, as you suggest, submarine operation makes any maintenance more difficult.

John

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

Another pilot plant has been running a little while now.
Carnegie Wave Energy - Perth Project

Unfortunately, solar and wind do not supply reliable 24/7 power. I work very close to a wind farm. Monday morning, early, way before the solar panels were producing, the wind farm turbines, all 100 of them, were motionless. Not a breath of wind.
Good job we had the coal burners running. It was a cool morning.

The intermittent nature of wind and solar isn't a good argument to keep your old mud burners running forever. It is a good argument for developing battery and pumped hydro storage on a large scale. I predict that no new coal power will ever be built in Australia and that nearly all existing plants will be shut down within the next 20 years. Engineers are currently going gang busters on battery production and there's nothing to stop them. New ways of producing lithium metal from lower grade ores will prevent a bottle neck.

WA company developing new technology to access lithium as demand for batteries to store renewable energy grows - ABC Rural (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

On pumped storage:

http://www.energy.unimelb.edu.au/doc...age-renewables

On battery development:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0623184353.htm

Wave power good but how about tidal power, build a wall across the horizontal falls and whack in a couple of turbines - free energy 24/7