VATIS UPDATE Article

Researchers at Australian Maritime College (AMC) and engineers at Wave Swell Energy, Australia, have tested a new wave energy device and now heading for commercial application in Australia’s Bass Strait. The device was at least 120% more efficient than a conventional device. Wave Swell have now announced to build a commercial-sized plant to provide power to King Island, halfway between Tasmania and Victoria.

Wave Swell’s design is a concrete gravity structure that sits on the seabed in 10m of water. It is based on the oscillating water column concept, which acts like an artificial blowhole with water rising and falling inside a chamber. Wave Swell have introduced novel vents that allow the air to escape from the chamber as a wave enters. The vents then close and as the wave passes, it draws air through the turbine.

This has two significant advantages: the venting of the chamber as the wave enters greatly reduces damping, meaning more water enters the chamber – resulting in an increase in efficiency. More significantly, it means that a simpler, more robust and efficient unidirectional turbine can be used, rather than a bi-directional turbine used by conventional wave energy converters of this type.