| USA. SyncWave launches $15 m project demonstrating low cost of wave energy |
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| Friday, 10 November 2006 | |
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Environmental news: SyncWave Energy Inc. (SEI) announces SyncWave Power Resonator, a radically new approach to capturing the energy in Ocean Waves with frequency-based technology. SyncWave is a free-floating, self-reacting point-absorber system that is expected to dramatically improve the economics of wave energy. The energy and climate change dilemma has highlighted the costs and impacts of conventional non-renewable and renewable energies. Ocean waves are a major renewable resource, eclipsing wind and hydro in potential. SyncWave's ultra-low impact, long-life, almost invisible, and highly productive electricity generation technology cuts the cost of wave energy down to levels affordable by consumers and industry today. SyncWave power could sell for as little as $US 5cents/kWh. Nigel Protter, President & CEO of SyncWave Energy Inc. describes recent prototype tests as "an enormous breakthrough in proving our technology IP and advancing the science of low cost wave energy conversion. Our prototype device, nicknamed 'Charlotte', exceeded our expectations and helped to refine our simulation models to a new level of sophistication. We're now committed to moving ahead with partners on a 3 year, $15 Million demonstration project off the West Coast of British Columbia, Canada. The goal is to bring SEI's technology to commercial readiness with sales booked and supply chain in place by 2009." SyncWave Power Resonator: Lowers the expected cost of wave energy to a level more than twice as efficient as the current wave energy market leader; Addresses multiple market segments with one core platform; Is relatively simple to build, deploy, service & out-source, with a long expected service life The wave energy conversion technology sector is on the brink of global commercialization. Yet competing Ocean Energy device developers are mostly focused on utility power, facing a shakeout due to: Subsidy Risk (reliance on subsidies & feed-in tariffs) Permitting Risk (large projects = large questions and long delays) Technology Risk (utilities are conservative buyers) SEI aims to mitigate those risks by launching with smaller scale technology in off-grid markets that pay higher prices for energy. SyncWave Power Resonator is comprised of two floats and a controller deployed in deep waters offshore. Under the regular stimulation of ocean swell the floats naturally heave out of phase due to differences in their physical properties. The SyncWave Energy Latching System (SWELS) controller optimizes their relative motion in the full range of wave conditions, and limits SyncWave to safe operating modes in extreme seas. The key difference from competing technologies is the company's view of the wave resource as a propagating energy field - like a radio wave. SEI designed SWELS to force SyncWave to resonate with the dominant frequency of the wave spectrum like an antenna tunes to a radio signal. This delivers consistent energy to the power take-off, which is converted to electricity and sent to shore by undersea cable. SWELS tracks changes in sea state and wave frequency over time, and constantly applies corrections to keep the system maximally productive. |
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