AW-Energy launches PTO testing facility

AW-Energy, a Finnish wave energy developer, has inaugurated a new wave energy testing facility built in collaboration with ABB, a power and automation technology group.

The facility is located in Järvenpää, Finland, and comprises a 1.5 MW grid-connected wave energy test site designed to develop, test and tune power take-off (PTO) systems.

According to ABB, it provided the facility with automation solutions based on programmable controllers that govern AW-Energy’s WaveRoller wave energy converter.

The collected information on WaveRoller’s performance is later used to develop control algorithms for the device.

AW-Energy has developed WaveRoller wave energy device that works when the back and forth movement of water driven by wave surge puts the panel into motion, which triggers the hydraulic piston, attached to the panel, to pump the hydraulic fluids inside a closed hydraulic circuit.

The high-pressure fluids are fed into a hydraulic motor that drives an electricity generator, producing electricity, which is then fed to the grid via subsea cable.

The 350 kW commercial scale WaveRoller device has recently been validated by DNV GL and Lloyd’s Register, and the device is planned for deployment in 2016.

Image: AW-Energy