Wave energy is a pioneering industry facing numerous engineering challenges including survivability, reliability, mooring, environmental, and operations and maintenance challenges. Sea Power’s goal is to develop the unique design and technology which we have developed and to test a commercially viable, fully operational wave energy conversion device which can survive all weather conditions and deliver a dependable energy supply.
The Desalination Industry
One of the solutions to addressing fresh water shortages is through Desalination. Desalination is the process of removing dissolved minerals which includes, but is not limited to, salt from seawater. The total global desalination components market is expected to reach more than $3.6 billion in 2012. A number of techniques have been developed for desalination including reverse osmosis (RO). In RO, the seawater is pumped through a membrane at pressure higher than osmotic pressure, thereby separating seawater and minerals. With desalination, brackish water and seawater represent a new and potentially unlimited supply of high quality water, especially in light of dramatic cost reductions in the RO process.
Desalination is experiencing exponential growth in the potable water market. It is a highly energy intensive process. Powering desalination plants with renewable energy sources is aa very attractive eco-friendly and sustainable proposition. The Sea Power Platform WEC can meet all these requirements. A “Sea Power Platform Desalination System” will include a Reverse Osmosis system developed for specific markets with suitable locations.
Pumped Hydro Electrical Storage (PHES)
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity stores energy in the form of water, pumped from a lower elevation (the ocean) to a higher elevation reservoir. During periods of high electrical demand, the stored water is released back down through turbines to produce electrical power. In order to meet the fluctuating demands of renewable energies pumped hydro storage facilities can be used to store electrical energy when demand is low, and help supply electricity when demand is peaking. The efficiency of this system is typically between 70% and 85%, making it one of the more efficient methods for storing energy.
The Sea Power Platform is, in effect, a large scale renewable energy pump and is ideal for providing high pressure water for pumped storage to near-shore sites for electricity generation at peak demand. The Sea Power Platform is the best solution for PHES as it provides a direct pump solution without the need to convert to electricity prior to pumping.
The Electricity Market
- The global electricity market grew by 14.5% in 2007 to reach a value of $1,465.9 billion.
- In 2012, the market is forecast to have a value of $2,641.2 billion, an increase of 80.2% since 2007.
- In 2006 the Total Electricity Requirement for the Republic of Ireland (ROI) was 27.8TWh.
- Ireland plans 500MW of deployed wave energy capacity by 2020 with a feed-in tariff of €220 / MWh.
- Ireland’s Wave Energy Resources located off the west coast are among the best in the world. This, coupled with Ireland’s ambitions to develop a strong renewable energy industry, will see the development of an Ocean Energy Industry which Sea Power will be ideally equipped and located to supply.
- The wave energy market 2007 installed capacity was only a few MW, a tiny fraction of the wind energy market. However, just over two decades ago the wind energy market too was beginning with just a few MW. It is feasible for the wave energy market to grow to well over 100 MW by 2015 and exponentially in the following years. The World Energy Council projects that the recoverable energy contained in waves could be converted into 2 terawatts (TW) of electricity.
Supplying to other Wave Energy Developers and associated industries.
Such is the modular nature of our PTO system, components of the Sea Power Platform (such as the damping system and the C-Pump) can be supplied separately to other wave energy developers.
