Lifesaver wave device starts producing power

Fred. Olsen wave energy converter – BOLT Lifesaver – has been redeployed for six-month trial period at the US Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site (WETS), off the coast of Hawaii.

The wave energy converter, with modified moorings system and new oceanographic sensor package designed to demonstrate the device’s ability to directly power external systems, has been reinstalled at the demonstration site outside Marine Corps Base in October 2018.

The divers from Sea Engineering connected the device to storm moorings at the 30-meter deep birth, and all three power take-off winch lines to seabed, to allow BOLT Lifesaver to initiate power production.

After successful operation, the upgraded device started producing power, according to Fred.Olsen.

To remind, Fred. Olsen’s point absorber wave energy device underwent one-year demonstration at WETS, before the retrieval in the summer of 2017 to Pearl Harbor for refurbishment.

This round of trials is part of collaborative effort, funded by the US Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), and made of the Applied Research Lab at University of Hawaii, the Applied Physics Lab at UW, offshore operations company Sea Engineering, and technology owner Fred. Olsen.