Orecon to Test Wave-Energy Conversion Buoy off of Southwestern England

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Orecon Limited (Bodmin, England), a spinoff company from Plymouth University (Plymouth, England), has developed a wave-energy conversion buoy that utilizes three multi-resonant chambers to provide renewable energy. Orecon has raised more than $19.5 million to fund the construction and deployment of the project, its first commercial 1.5-megawatt (MW) offshore buoy, southwest of Hayle, England, in conjunction with the South West of England Regional Development Agency's Wave Hub Project.

The buoy utilizes multiple oscillating water columns that drive air turbo-generator sets. The buoys are about 40 meters in diameter and rise more than 5 meters over waves. All of the machinery is above the water. Construction of the first unit is expected to take eight months. After the prototype is complete, Orecon expects following units to be built in about five months. Deployment is quick and depends a lot on how far the buoys are transported. The actual installation will take about three and a half days: three days to install the six anchors and another 12 hours to attach the buoy.

Construction of the first unit is expected to begin in second quarter of 2009 with deployment set for April 2010.

Key features of the multi-resonant chambers:

• Single moving part (turbo-gen set)
• Fixed geometry turbine (no moving blades or guide vanes)
• Three 500-kilowatt independent chambers
• No intermediate stage limiting power takeoff
• No shutdown required except in extreme hurricane conditions
• Designed for 100-year wave (33 meters at 18 seconds)
• No active parts below water line
• No hydraulics or gearboxes
• Use of proven subsystems from experienced suppliers
• Onboard power conditioning to full grid code compliance
• High-voltage transmission to shore (11 kilovolts (kV), 33 kV or as required by the site)
• Onboard maintenance (buoy remains on station)
• Outstanding power density for compact arrays
• Minimum 25-year installed life
• Full certification to DNV classification rules

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