Wave energy should be among the topics at the COP26 United Nations Climate Change conference. Wave energy is abundant around the world and could theoretically provide more than 100% of the world's current electrical consumption, with no CO2. Driven by the promise of this resource, engineers and scientists have worked for decades to create technology that could convert the dense power of ocean waves into electricity. But for that technology to be deployed on the world's shores, they had to make wave energy affordable, competitive with current energy sources. Companies like Seabased have had to bring down the cost of wave energy.
"For wave energy to be a viable alternative to fossil fuels it can't just be clean, it can't just be good for the environment, it also has to be cost-competitive with the energy that is being produced now," said Seabased CEO Laurent Albert. "Those constraints have long been part of our design process and our market identification and continue to help guide us as we approach commercialization. In some of our markets, the electricity produced by our technology will actually be cheaper than the power currently being used."
Islands are an obvious example. Thousands of islands around the world can't function without expensive, polluting, imported diesel fuel. For the islands where the wave resource is right, wave energy could provide electricity from a renewable fuel source that costs nothing, is CO2-free, and is locally produced, offering energy security and clean air along with savings.
The goal, as Albert says, is to always keep in mind Seabased's data-driven sweet spot at the confluence of performance, environmental safety, community benefit, and cost savings. For example:
Picking the best location for a wave energy park:
The farther into the ocean one goes, the more powerful the waves. So Seabased didn't want to be onshore, where the waves are weaker. However, the farther one goes offshore to install equipment, the greater the cost. Seabased generators are designed to rest on the seabed, safe from the rougher waves at the surface that could shorten their lifespan (thus driving up costs). So our optimal locations can best be described as near-shore, at water depths of 20-50 meters.
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In our locations, the technology can rest safely on the seabed with only the rugged steel buoy on the surface.
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Installation and maintenance are much less costly where our generators are located than they would be if the generators had to be installed in deep water.
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Sea cable is costly; having to deliver power a long way via sea cable increases the price of the electricity.
Wave Park Installation
Seabased's design always called for the generators to rest on an unprepared seabed that didn't involve drilling or any other disruption of the environment. Drilling damages the ecosystem and costs a fortune. Offshore drilling rigs cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Instead, Seabased anchors wave energy converters using heavy concrete bases that can be built with small holes on the sides that some sea life prefer to the otherwise barren ocean floor. This can increase biodiversity. The bases can also be built onsite, providing local labor. And if the park is ever decommissioned, removing the WECS is as simple as lifting them out of the ocean, leaving little trace that they were ever there.
Off-the-shelf parts for wave energy components
Seabased's technology is protected by nearly 400 patents, yet the design created and refined by scientists, and engineers--uses many component parts anyone could order online. One example is the company's use of ferrite magnets, a kind of magnet that could be picked up at a hardware store. Seabased experimented with several magnets and discovered that, while pricier magnets can produce more power under some circumstances, they would drive up the cost of the wave energy beyond the extra boost of power. The pricier magnets also put the supply chain at risk and depend on mining practices that have come under serious scrutiny for their mistreatment of labor.
Standardized shipping of wave energy components
Anyone who has seen a 75-plus-meter wind turbine blade being transported knows what an impressive sight that is. Transporting these monolithic turbines and towers has presented a lot of challenges to the wind energy industry. Seabased has learned that sometimes small is better. The company wanted to save fuel, and reduce wave energy's cost, by being able to ship components and completed generators on regular cargo vessels. Other component parts, such as the concrete bases and buoys, are ideally built onsite which also saves fuel and shipping costs and creates local jobs.
Recycling of wave energy components
In the current design, Seabased manufactures buoys of recycled steel and will use and recycle other materials as possible. Recycling steel saves on carbon emissions and reduces the need for mining.
Seabased is in the process of evaluating and honing its lifecycle CO2 footprint. Early numbers are promising when calculating the impact of the measures the company has taken. Making wave energy that's gentle on the environment and affordable for the people is essential to bringing this powerful resource into the renewable energy mix. And bringing stable, predictable wave energy into the renewable mix can significantly increase the percentage of renewables on the grid which is a key step to combatting climate change.
