In search of the high energy potential available in offshore waves, several wave energy developers have located their systems offshore. However, these systems struggled to commercialize due to:
Why Onshore/Nearshore?
Resulting from the difficulties experienced by the offshore competitors in the wave energy sector, Eco Wave Power decided to take a different approach by installing its’ systems in the onshore and nearshore environment & attaching it to marine structures, such as breakwaters.
A new study in the wave energy sector supports Eco Wave Power’s approach. For example, in Figure 1, we can see that although the maximum wave power is higher offshore, the exploitable level of power in the offshore and nearshore is practically the same, due to the following:
Figure 1: Wave power variations relative to proximity of WEC to the shore
source: https://waveenergyconversiontamu15.weebly.com/theory-of-wave-energy–availability.html
In deep water, waves can travel in almost any direction, making it difficult to extract energy. As they approach the shore, they turn towards it, so WECs positioned in near-shore locations almost always encounter waves coming from the same direction. This significantly boosts the quantity of energy captured. Furthermore, wave profiles are usually milder closer to shore: maximum wave heights in near-shore areas are closer to average wave heights – implying that WECs in near-shore areas tend to encounter more stable sea states – providing highly exploitable wave energy resources compared to off-shore locations.
A study[1] by the Indian Institute of Technology is also supporting the claim that the best location for energy generation is indeed breakwaters.
A support of such advantages of onshore wave energy can be seen in a recent study by the Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology at Dokuz Eylül University which determines that onshore technologies have significantly higher survivability and is more cost effective than offshore solutions.[2]
Moreover, Eco Wave Power appeared in a recent study by Dr. Peter Harrop which finds that interest in waterpower is on the rise again as large orders are landed.[3] The new vibrancy primarily concerns avoiding huge infrastructure and putting simpler devices particularly in the sea. At last, marketing led approaches satisfy new needs, particularly in a vast number of cases where cost of electricity is not key. He also mentioned Eco Wave Power in his detailed study as one of the most dominant technology and provides deep technology analysis. In his study, he is forecasting that the market will rise to at least USD 100 billion.
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002980181830903X
[2] https:/www.anmb.ro/buletinstiintific/buletine/2016_Issue1/FCS/408-417.pdf
[3] Dr. Peter Harrop, Wave, Tidal and Hydro Power 1W-10MW 2018-2038