The ability to measure accurately the wave energy resource at a given site is essential for the successful development of wave farms. The likelihood of success must be assessed before a project goes ahead. A collaborative project between the University of Southampton and Pelamis Wave Power Ltd (PWP) is currently aiming at providing a wave climatology package with a documented methodology. This package is intended to allow the detailed wave climate to be calculated for a designated area, given raw satellite or buoy data as input. This facilitates the economic assessment of wave energy farms, thus improving the service that PWP can offer to customers, and potentially increasing sales of Pelamis machines. In addition, accurate knowledge of the wave potential in the area is vital for efficient use of the converters. Specific outputs of the project will include: computed climatologies for offshore and nearshore locations, wave energy maps, analysis of extreme waves, and assessment of open data sources to determine their predictive capability.
The project is a Knowledge Transfer Partnership, backed by the Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills (formerly DTI – Department of Trade & Industry). KTPs provide academic know-how to commercial enterprises.
Pelamis in action