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The infinite power of ocean waves has been beckoning renewable energy innovators since the early 2000s, and now all that hard work is beginning to pay off. Much of the work so far involves modestly-scaled demonstration projects, but the Israeli startup (and woman-founded) firm Eco Wave Power is already looking at a 400-megawatt wave energy opportunity in Taiwan, with plenty more where that comes from.
The Monster Potential Of Wave Energy
Wave energy devices fall into the category of marine energy, which also includes systems for harnessing the natural power of tides.
The renewable energy payoff for wave energy alone is consequential. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the US Department of Energy recently ran the numbers for wave energy potential in the US, and they came up with an estimate of more than 1,170 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year.
For the sake of comparison, NREL notes that the US consumes 4,000 TWh of electricity every year, meaning that zero emission, naturally occurring wave energy could supply almost one-third of the nation’s electricity needs.
If that figure gives nuclear energy stakeholders the heebie-jeebies, it should. Nuclear advocates have been banking on nuclear energy to fill the surging thirst for electricity from data centers, crypto mining, EV charging, and other emerging energy-sucking features of the US economy. Wave energy offers the potential for another significant source of clean electricity, without incurring complications related to uranium mining and pressure on water resources, as well as the management of spent fuel and the risk of catastrophic accidents.
Wave energy devices also skirt around the land use issues that have slowed wind and solar development in the US and elsewhere.
Wave Energy Is (Finally) Scaling Up
For wave energy advocates, the key word is potential. The marine energy field is a new industry that has yet to formulate mature standards, certification systems, and supply chains that support the deployment of commercial-level devices.
Still, on a visit to the 2023 Ocean Energy Europe Conference in The Hague, I found that marine energy stakeholders were confident that commercialization is within view, with 2024 being viewed as a breakthrough year. That hasn’t hasn’t materialized in full force, but as 2024 draws to a close there are plenty of signs that wave energy is ready for its closeup.
Eco Wave Power is one good example. While other wave energy innovators have been developing devices that can be tethered out at sea, Eco Wave Power has focused on attaching its devices to seawalls and other existing coastal infrastructure. The advantages include ease of access and avoiding the need for undersea cables.
Eco Wave Power has several pilot projects in the pipeline including a 100-kilowatt installation at the Port of Los Angeles. That’s peanuts compared to the company’s newly announced plans with the leading Taiwanese engineering firm Lian Tat Company through its subsidiary, International Ocean Energy Co. (aka I-Ke).
In a press release earlier today, EcoWave Power indicated that I-Ke is purchasing one of the company’s 100-kilowatt conversion units for installation at a seaport on the east coast of Taiwan. If all goes according to plan, the pilot-scale project will lead to a 20-megwatt facility at the port, as an interim step towards a final goal of 400 megawatts.
In a press statement, Lian Tat Chairman CY Huang indicated that wave energy will resolve land use issues that have impeded Taiwan’s transition to renewable energy.
“The construction of Eco Wave Power’s project is relatively easy, and I believe that it will be a significant stepping stone for the development of green electricity in Taiwan,” Huang explained. “I also think that this will allow Taiwan to break away from existing renewable energy restrictions and develop in the direction of diversified renewable energy.”
A Wave Energy Hub Rises In Asia Pacific
Assuming that the 400-megawatt milestone for the seaport project materializes, that’s just for starters. Huang also notes that his company has assessed 83 additional sites for wave energy development, taking advantage of Taiwan’s 1,5000 miles of coastline.
Apparently that, too, is just for starters. In another press statement, I-Ke is described as anticipating that Taiwan will serve as a hub for further wave energy development throughout the Asia Pacific region.
The details are a little skimpy, but under the deal with Eco Wave Power, I-Ke is tasked with manufacturing floaters, hydraulic cylinders, and other parts of the 100-kilowatt pilot project. That suggests the company will begin assembling a workforce and supply chain that can serve as the foundation for a new, regional wave energy industry.
I-Ke will also take responsibility for permits, land use consents, licensing, and other paperwork for the pilot project, an experience that it can transfer to additional installations within and outside of Taiwan.
Next Steps For Wave Energy
Eco Wave Power founder Inna Braverman, who is also the CEO of the company, already has her sights set on additional markets. That includes India, where the Indian Navy has been exploring wave energy concepts since at least 2016. The country’s interest in the field is also evident at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, where researchers are working towards a 1-megawatt goal for their new offshore device.
Over here in the US, an impressive stockpile of resources for wave energy innovators has emerged, including an upgraded wave test site in Hawaii under the auspices of the US Navy and an elaborate new civilian-lead test facility off the Oregon coast, as well as a network other test tanks, laboratories, and inland facilities scattered throughout the US.
As one indication of the sprawling, collaborative R&D effort under way, in August the Naval Surface Warfare Center reported on a research project deploying an indoor test facility in Maryland called MASK (short for Maneuvering and Seakeeping Basin), in partnership with the Energy Department’s Sandia National Laboratories, which is located in New Mexico. The researchers are aiming to optimize the energy output for a one-ton offshore wave converter designed to move in three different ways.
Another indication of growing support is a newly announced Energy Department funding package of up to $112.5 million, the largest single amount the agency has ever dedicated to wave energy.
“This investment will help identify and mature high-potential WEC [wave energy converter] technologies, reduce financial risks for developers and incentivize investors, progress technologies at smaller scales while developing toward utility scale, and increase learning for installation, operations, and maintenance,” the Energy Department explains. Concept papers are due by October 25, so stay tuned for more news about that.
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Image (cropped): Wave energy is a vast new source of renewable energy that has defied harnessing, but researchers and industry stakeholders are finally beginning to unlock its secrets (courtesy of NREL).
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