Back in 2012, Sweden's Eco Wave Power started testing a wave energy harvesting system that could be installed on existing structures like breakwaters and piers. The company switched on its first grid-connected project four years later, and has now announced the second – which will convert the rise and fall of waves at Jaffa Port in Israel into electricity.
The Eco Wave Power system features a series of floats that rest on the surface of the water. These floats rise and fall with the waves, and are connected to the support structure by hydraulic arms. Only the floats and pistons are set in the water, the power station that converts the wave energy into fluid pressure that drives a generator to create electricity is land-based.
The Jaffa Port project has been co-funded by the Israeli Energy Ministry and will involve the construction and installation of floats along a 30 meter (100 ft) stretch of a pre-existing breakwater within the port. Each float has a surface area of 8.54 square meters (92 sq ft), and the expected capacity of the station will be 100 kW.
Eco Wave Power has partnered with Siemens for the project, which will provide the electrical and grid connection technology while also upgrading Eco Wave Power's components for improved system efficiency.
The design and engineering aspects of the project have been completed, and Eco Wave Power is currently procuring components ahead of construction in the near future.
"This is a new and exciting era for wave energy," said Eco Wave Power's Inna Braverman. "We are proud to work in partnership with large global industry leaders such as Siemens and we are looking forward to continue the positioning of wave energy as a feasible and reliable source of clean electricity."
Source: Eco Wave Power