VIDEO: ISWEC wave energy converter

February 13, 2015

Wave for Energy, a Turin-based wave energy developer, has designed and built ISWEC wave energy converter that uses a gyroscopic system which exploits wave’s slopes to produce energy.

ISWEC device is designed as a sealed hull, that acts as home to all technological parts of the device.

The system works when the hull oscillations caused by the movement of waves induce the rotation of the gyroscope platform.

The rotation is then converted to electricity by the power generator.

The system can automatically adapt itself according to the movement of waves, using the flywheel speed and the PTO (power take-off) control law.

The flywheel speed is controlled by a weather-wave forecasting algorithm to adapt to long-term ocean conditions change. The PTO is controlled on a short term loop to adapt to the next incoming wave.

Grouping several ISWEC devices can create a wave energy farm, with each unit connected to a central submerged hub used for phasing and converting the electrical outputs coming from the ISWEC units and for sending them to the onshore grid connection facility.

The current stage of development of the ISWEC technology is defined as TRL 6 (technology readiness level), meaning that the engineering of the device is at the fully integrated pilot (prototype) phase that is tested in a relevant environment.

Wave for Energy said a 100 kW ISWEC device will be deployed in March this year, off the coast of Sicily.

Take a look at the animated video explaining the manner in which ISWEC wave device operates.