Kymaner’s bi-radial air turbine has operated at full power of 30kW on its first day of testing at Mutriku wave power plant.
The turbine was shipped to Mutriku power plant, located in the Bay of Biscay in Spain, last week, after the conclusion of laboratory testing at IST University in Lisbon.
It is now undergoing further validation in real-sea conditions at the Mutriku shoreline wave power plant, owned by Basque energy agency EVE, which will be followed by trials on Oceantec’s floating wave energy converter at Bimep, as part of the OPERA wave energy project.
Kymaner’s bi-radial turbine-generator aims to increase oscillating water column (OWC) annual mean efficiency by 50% and improve the reliability of the PTO in comparison with the most frequently used options.
The open-sea testing of this new turbine will help validate its robustness, reliability and power performance characteristics. More specifically, several advanced control algorithms will be implemented and compared, it is stated on OPERA project’s website.
The control laws have already been customized for both Mutriku and the floating prototype, as well as for dry lab testing in Portugal, Spain and Ireland.
Four research partners, including IST, University College of Cork, University of Exeter, and Tecnalia, have provided the advanced control strategies, according to OPERA.
Open Sea Wave Operating Experience to Reduce Energy Cost (OPERA) project aims to develop a technology that would reduce the cost of operating wave energy devices at sea for 50%, accelerate the development of international standards, and reduce uncertainties and technological risks associated with wave energy.