PNNL

Abstract

Wave energy is a vast and largely untapped resource with the potential to contribute significantly to global energy production. A new wave energy technology has been developed by an Australian company, Wave Swell Energy Ltd., consisting of a unique unidirectional axial turbine version of the well-established oscillating water column (OWC) concept. A prototype of the technology, the UniWave200, was deployed for grid-connected testing near the coastline of King Island, Tasmania, from 2021 to 2022. Data collected during the pilot project were analyzed by the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The results of this analysis indicate the full-process wave-to-grid energy conversion efficiency to be on the order of 45% for significant wave heights above 1 m. A comparison to performance data from another OWC device shows that the UniWave200 operates with roughly double the efficiency.