Eco Factor: Wave Power System uses waves to generate clean electricity.
Researchers working on the possibilities of using ocean waves as a power source believe that up to 200 megawatts of electricity could be generated if efficient wave-absorbing devices are placed along a kilometer of coastline. The claims, however, require systems that could effectively deal with the harsh and corrosive properties of sea water. Chiang Mei, the Ford Professor of Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT, has developed numerical simulations that can predict wave forces on a given device and the motion they will lead to.
Professor Mei and his team have also been able to develop a device called the OWC or Oscillating Wave Column, which makes use of the simulations to great effect. The device is actually a chamber with a subsurface opening. As a wave hits the device, water forces air trapped into it to the subsurface opening where an electricity generating turbine is placed. The turbine blades are designed in a fashion that they don’t change their rotation with the change in the direction of air. Professor Mei says that they could optimize the efficiency of the OWC by making use of the compressibility of air. Initially three such columns are to be placed along the mouth of Douro River in Porto, where it will be able to generate 750 kilowatts of clean energy that would be enough to power 750 households.
The Dark Side:
The energy produced by the device directly depends on the wave activity. Though the OWC would work perfectly at a place where the ocean waves are hard, using the same device elsewhere could be a problem.
Via: GoodCleanTech
