Wave energy technology developer or CorPower said this week it was approaching completion of" the world’s largest wave energy test-rig" following a two-year project.
The 45-tonne moving mass system located in Stockholm is capable of simulating ocean wave conditions anywhere in the world, the company said.
"Measuring 40m in length and 9m in width at 7.2MW rating, the system will play a fundamental role supporting CorPower’s flagship HiWave-5 demonstration project, involving the deployment of the firm’s first full-scale WEC (Wave Energy Converter) off the coast of Portugal, later this year," CorPower said.
"The purpose of the dry testing is not only to test the overall performance of the system, but also to debug, stabilize and fine-tune it before it goes into the ocean," the company added.
The CorePower wave energy converter is of point absorber type, with a heaving buoy on the surface absorbing energy from ocean waves and which is connected to the seabed using a tensioned mooring line. The device oscillates in resonance with the incoming waves, amplifying the motion and power capture.