Technological and Economic Aspects of Wave Energy Harvesting

Technological and Economic Aspects of Wave Energy Harvesting

The geographical regions contiguous to the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea are prone to natural disasters and poor electric supply especially in rural and hard to reach coastal regions. Utilization of ocean resources for power generation such as tidal, thermal solar and wind for energy need to be incorporated in a broad framework for the region. Development of ocean-based energy systems can be integrated with early warning networks linked by satellite which can give a few hours to days warning to help mitigate the severity of natural disasters on human life. Ocean-based electricity extraction has; however, remained elusive for various reasons. Interest in these systems resumed after the oil crisis of the 1970's, but was uncoordinated. Extraction of ocean energy from the kinetic energy of waves and ocean currents depends on various mechanical devices with variable efficiencies. Apart from the efficiency, one must match the output phase of the feeder waveforms with that of the electrical grid. Also, the wavelengths of the typical wave are of the order of a few meters, the interception of which requires large devices. The mechanical efficiency of the turbine extraction system is further limited by the flow momentum considerations. Some applications and their implementation are looked at, specifically with reference to the difficulties of implementation in the region, and other factors like economic efficiency (rate of returns) in place of mechanical efficiency). Individual wave energy harvesters are thus bound to suffer from inefficiencies and it may be beneficial to use wave farm configurations from the point of view of the randomness of wave motion, the large wavelengths, and the added advantage of averaging fluctuations from large numbers of generators.