The strategic arrangement of wave-energy buoys within a wave farm could vastly improve their ability to harness energy from ocean swell, according to a new study.
Ocean waves contain an enormous amount of energy. Floating buoys, some as big as a small house, have the potential to harness the motion of the waves to generate vast amounts of electricity. However, deep sea deployment of these arrays is challenging, with their performance affected by the variable nature of ocean waves.
Researchers from the Universities of Augsburg, Adelaide, and Melbourne believe they have designed a solution to increase their efficiency. Using computer simulations, they fine-tuned the interaction between buoys to maximise the energy yield of a wave farm.
The concept behind wave energy devices is relatively straightforward. “Heaving buoys anchored to the seabed are carried upwards by the waves and then sink back down in the troughs. This constant up and down motion drives a kind of dynamo, which generates electricity...