Gallery: ISWEC awaits January connection

Wave for Energy, a Turin-based wave energy developer, plans to connect its ISWEC wave energy device to the Italian electricity grid by the end of January, 2016.

Wave for Energy has deployed ISWEC off Pantelleria island early in August, 2015. The device has since been undergoing tests, and the company plans to continue with the trials until mid-December.

In the meantime, Wave for Energy installed photovoltaic panels on ISWEC to check their water resistant capability and to maximize the energy production of the device.

Paolo Gherra, Project Manager at Wave for Energy, said: “The results we’ve got until now are very positive and they are confirming the performance from our mathematical model. Also the mooring system has worked well in all the sea conditions we’ve had from August till now.”

ISWEC device is designed as a sealed hull that uses a gyroscopic system to exploit wave’s slopes to produce energy.

The company plans to retrieve the device mid-December to upgrade it with an additional Gyro, and to check other components of the device.

The works on ISWEC device are expected to be completed by the middle of the January.

The installation works of the subsea cable that will connect the device with the Pantelleria island’s grid are planned to begin next week, and should be completed by mid-January.

Wave for Energy then plans to redeploy and connect ISWEC to the grid by the last week of January, 2016.

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Images: Wave for Energy