Pull out – wave power

Pull out – wave power

Denmark is among a number of countries in the race to develop wave energy as a future renewable source of electricity.

It has been focusing on wave power with coordinated research under the Wave Energy Program (1997-2001) and believed the long-term potential of wave power could be up to 10 percent of global electricity consumption.

Wave power is seen as more predictable than wind in Denmark, and several wave energy machines are under development.

Among those at the forefront is Pers Streenstrup, of Copenhagen, who proudly calls himself a “serial entrepreneur.”

Streenstrup is the managing director of Wave Star Energy which is already feeding electricity into the national grid from a 24m long wave machine in the relatively sheltered waters of Missum

Bredning off Denmark’s northern coast

“We’ve had a system in the sea for more than three years.”

Streenstrup had started the company in 2003 aiming for a breakthrough.

“The problem is survival of plant during big storms …people have been trying to crack the nut but there’s been one disaster after the next.”

Streenstrup had 20 years experience with under-water technology like pipelines and cables, basically how to make systems at sea last.

His technology, a machine that resembles a caterpillar, sits on piles and harvests the up-and-down movement generated by waves through two rows of floats and hydraulic cylinders oriented towards the wave direction, perpendicular to the coast.

The waves lift up the floats, each of which act like a pump to drive a hydraulic motor which drives a generator.

Streenstup says the arms lift up out of harms way in a storm and there have been no significant problems.

“It is proven offshore technology with a track record in the sea. It has survived 15 storms with no damage. That’s a huge step forward…and it even attracts marine life.”

Of course it still needs to be commercially viable to produce energy at a competitive price, but Streenstrup says like for wind energy, that is just a matter of time.

“Every time you double the size of the machine the power output increases 11-fold.”

ENDS

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