Wello Penguin

Last updated

The Wello Penguin at Billia Croo in May 2014 JOE140514 128 Orkney.jpg
The Wello Penguin at Billia Croo in May 2014

The Penguin is a wave energy converter (WEC) which was developed by Finnish company Wello Oy between 2008 and 2023. Two full-scale device were constructed, and tested in Scotland and Spain respectively, although both tests ended in difficulties.

Contents

The Wello Penguin WEC moored at Lyness Pier, Hoy, Orkney in March 2014 Wello Penguin WEC at Lyness.jpg
The Wello Penguin WEC moored at Lyness Pier, Hoy, Orkney in March 2014
The Wello Penguin WEC moored at Lyness Pier, Hoy, Orkney with the 2 Pelamis P2 WECs behind Wello Penguin WEC and Pelamis at Lyness.jpg
The Wello Penguin WEC moored at Lyness Pier, Hoy, Orkney with the 2 Pelamis P2 WECs behind

The concept was a rotating-mass type WEC, with an asymmetric counterweight connected to a generator to harvest energy from the movement of the hull in passing waves. An assessment of wave energy technologies in 2020 rated it at a technology readiness level of TRL7, i.e. full-scale prototypical system demonstration in a relevant environment. [1]

Device concept

The device is a floating asymmetric hull containing a rotating mass which drives a generator, without the need for hydraulic systems or a gearbox, and uses similar components to wind turbines. [2] Passing waves cause the hull to move in roll, heave, and pitch, this motion driving the asymmetric counterweight and flywheel, connected to an electrical generator housed inside the hull. [3] The counterweight rotates around a vertical axis, nominally parallel to the gravity vector, and can be considered a type of pendulum. [4]

The design is such that all moving parts of the WEC are contained within the hull. [1] The hull also has multiple watertight compartments, which were claimed would keep the device afloat. [5]

Different sources quote the rated power of the Penguin WEC as 0.5 MW, [3] 0.6 MW, [1] [6] or even 1 MW. [2]

History

Wello Oy was founded in 2008, based in Espoo, Finland. In 2014, Fortum acquired a 13.6% minority share in the company. [7] In September 2023, Wello filed for bankruptcy, ceasing development of the wave energy technology after 15 years. [8]

The concept was initially tested in wave tanks and at sea between 2008 and 2011, before full-scale sea trials. [9]

Penguin WEC1 at EMEC

This first full-scale 0.5 MW device was tested at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland between 2011 and 2019. [3] Initial tests commenced in June 2011. It was then deployed at the grid-connected Billia Croo in 2012, where it was connected to the grid via an 11 kV subsea cable. [9] [10] Initial test data confirmed the prototype was performing as expected from earlier testing. [9]

In April 2015, Wello extended the testing by an additional year. [10] When not being tested, the device was moored at Lyness on the Orkney island of Hoy.

The fourth test deployment commenced in March 2017, however after just over two years of continuous operation, the device sank in March 2019. It had survived waves of over 18 m during that time. [11]

Clean Energy From Ocean Waves project

The Clean Energy From Ocean Waves (CEFOW) project was funded by the European Horizon 2020 programme. [12] The initial aim was to deploy three 1 MW Penguin WECs at the Wave Hub test site in Cornwall, England. The project was coordinated by Finnish utility company Fortum. [2] WEC1 was to be transferred from EMEC to Wave Hub, and joined by a further two devices manufactured for the project. [13] The project was to include a smart subsea hub using dry-mate connectors to connect the three WECs onto a single export cable. [14]

The location was revised to EMEC, due to the easier nearshore Billia Croo site. WEC1 was redeployed as part of the CEFOW project in March 2017, having been towed back from Falmouth by Green Marine. [15]

The second Penguin WEC was constructed in Tallinn, Estonia, and launched in December 2018. [14] The device was towed across the North Sea to Orkney and moored at Hatston Pier, Kirkwall, however the CEFOW project was cancelled in 2019. [16]

Penguin 2 at BiMEP

The second-generation device was tested at the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) in the Basque Country of northern Spain. Wello announced the testing in September 2020, and hoped to deploy the device in October after a two-week tow from Scotland by Saipem. [17] [18] The 44 m long, 0.6 MW device eventually started generating electricity to the Spanish grid in September 2021, having been installed in July. It was proposed to test the device for two years. [6] Saipem were responsible for the installation and the ongoing operations and maintenance. [19]

In December 2021, the device was recovered to Vizcaya harbour after a minor leakage was detected inside the device. [5] It was then moved to the Port of Bilbao, where it had remained for over a year, as of March 2023. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wave power</span> Transport of energy by wind waves, and the capture of that energy to do useful work

Wave power is the capture of energy of wind waves to do useful work – for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or pumping water. A machine that exploits wave power is a wave energy converter (WEC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pelamis Wave Energy Converter</span>

The Pelamis Wave Energy Converter was a technology that used the motion of ocean surface waves to create electricity. The machine was made up of connected sections which flex and bend as waves pass; it is this motion which is used to generate electricity.

The Wave Hub is an offshore renewable energy research project, originally developed for wave power, but following limited interest is being developed for floating offshore wind. The project is developed approximately 10 miles (16 km) off Hayle, on the north coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CETO</span> Submerged wave power technology

CETO is a wave-energy technology that converts kinetic energy from ocean swell into electrical power and directly desalinates freshwater through reverse osmosis. The technology was developed and tested onshore and offshore in Fremantle, Western Australia. In early 2015 a CETO 5 production installation was commissioned and connected to the grid. As of January 2016 all the electricity generated is being purchased to contribute towards the power requirements of HMAS Stirling naval base at Garden Island, Western Australia. Some of the energy will also be used directly to desalinate water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Marine Energy Centre</span>

The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) Ltd. is a UKAS accredited test and research centre focused on wave and tidal power development, based in the Orkney Islands, UK. The centre provides developers with the opportunity to test full-scale grid-connected prototype devices in wave and tidal conditions.

Pelamis Wave Power designed and manufactured the Pelamis Wave Energy Converter – a technology that uses the motion of ocean surface waves to create electricity. The company was established in 1998 and had offices and fabrication facilities in Leith Docks, Edinburgh, Scotland. It went into administration in November 2014.

The Oyster was a hydro-electric wave energy device that used the motion of ocean waves to generate electricity. It was made up of a Power Connector Frame (PCF), which is bolted to the seabed, and a Power Capture Unit (PCU). The PCU is a hinged buoyant flap that moves back and forth with movement of the waves. The movement of the flap drives two hydraulic pistons that feed high-pressured water to an onshore hydro-electric turbine, which drives a generator to make electricity. Oyster was stationed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) at its Billia Croo site in Orkney, Scotland until the company ceased trading in 2015.

Aquamarine Power was a British wave energy company, founded in 2005 to commercialise the Oyster wave energy converter, a device to capture energy from near-shore waves. The company's head offices were in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company ceased trading in November 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tidal stream generator</span> Type of tidal power generation technology

A tidal stream generator, often referred to as a tidal energy converter (TEC), is a machine that extracts energy from moving masses of water, in particular tides, although the term is often used in reference to machines designed to extract energy from the run of a river or tidal estuarine sites. Certain types of these machines function very much like underwater wind turbines and are thus often referred to as tidal turbines. They were first conceived in the 1970s during the oil crisis.

Wave Energy Scotland (WES) is a technology development body set up by the Scottish Government to facilitate the development of wave energy in Scotland. It was set up in 2015 and is a subsidiary of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) based in Inverness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MARMOK-A-5</span> Offshore electrical power generator

MARMOK-A-5 is an offshore electrical power generator that uses wave energy to create electricity. This device is a spar buoy installed in the maritime testing site BiMEP, in the Bay of Biscay. It is the first grid-connected maritime generator in Spain, and one of the first in the world.

Sotenäs is a wave farm located in Kungshamn, in the municipality of Sotenäs, Sweden. The facility consists of 36 wave energy converters (WECs), with a total installed capacity of nearly 3 MW. Each WEC generates power using point absorber buoys connected to linear generators on the seabed. The generators are located at a depth of 50 m (160 ft). According to Seabased, the technology used in the project could deliver electricity for under 10 cents per kWh. Initial announcements stated that the power plant would eventually expand to around 10 MW capacity, but in 2017 Seabased announced it would no longer expand the plant beyond the 36 WECs already in place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orbital O2</span> Orbital O2 floating tidal stream turbine

Orbital Marine Power is a Scottish renewable energy company focused on the development and global deployment of its pioneering floating turbine technology. The O2 is Orbital's first commercial turbine and represents the culmination of more than 15 years of world leading product development in the UK. The 74 m long turbine is expected to operate in the waters off Orkney for the next 15–20 years with the capacity to meet the annual electricity demand of around 2,000 UK homes with clean, predictable power from the fast-flowing waters while offsetting approximately 2,200 tonnes of CO2 production per year. In a further ground-breaking element of the project, the O2 will provide power to the European Marine Energy Centre's onshore electrolyser to generate green hydrogen that will be used to demonstrate decarbonisation of wider energy requirements.

Mocean EnergyLtd. is a wave energy technology developer, based in Edinburgh and Aberdeen. They are developing a hinged-raft attenuator wave energy converter (WEC) at various scales for different markets.

Many tidal stream generators have been developed over the years to harness the power of tidal currents flowing around coastlines. These are also called tidal stream turbines (TST), tidal energy converters (TEC), or marine hydro-kinetic (MHK) generation. These turbines operate on a similar principle to wind turbines, but are designed to work in a fluid approximately 800 times more dense than air which is moving at a slower velocity. Note that tidal barrages or lagoons operate on a different principle, generating power by impounding the rising and falling tide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OpenHydro</span> Defunct Irish turbine developer company

OpenHydro Group Ltd was an Irish developer of tidal stream turbines, established in 2004. It was acquired by Naval Energies in 2013, however, Naval Energies decided in July 2018 to stop developing tidal turbines and focus on floating wind turbines. The company subsequently went into liquidation with debts of about €280m.

CorPower Ocean AB is a wave energy device developer, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. They also have offices in Oslo, Viana do Castelo, and Stromness. The office in Viana do Castelo is an R&D centre that also serves as the manufacturing and service centre for the wave energy converters (WEC).

The Aguçadoura test site is an offshore location in the north of Portugal where grid connected offshore renewable energy devices have been tested, for research and project demonstration. It is about 5 km (3 miles) off the coast of Aguçadoura, Póvoa de Varzim, about 35 km NNE of central Porto.

AWS Ocean Energy Ltd is a Scottish wave energy device developer, based in Dochfour near Inverness, Highland. The company has developed and tested several concepts, primarily the Archimedes Waveswing (AWS) after which the company is named.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Malali, Praveen; Marchand, Kyle (2020). "Assessment of currently available ocean wave energy conversion systems using technology readiness levels" (PDF). International Journal of Renewable Energy Technology. 11 (2): 126. doi:10.1504/IJRET.2020.108332. ISSN   1757-3971 – via Academia.org.
  2. 1 2 3 Ford, Jason (5 June 2015). "Wave energy device using wind turbine components set for development at Wave Hub". The Engineer. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "Wello Oy: EMEC Wave Clients". European Marine Energy Centre. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  4. ↑ Boren, Blake C.; Lomonaco, Pedro; Batten, Belinda A.; Paasch, Robert K. (January 2017). "Design, Development, and Testing of a Scaled Vertical Axis Pendulum Wave Energy Converter". IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy. 8 (1): 155–163. doi:10.1109/TSTE.2016.2589221. ISSN   1949-3029.
  5. 1 2 Garanovic, Amir (15 February 2022). "Wello retrieves Penguin device due to damage by 'floating object' hit". Offshore Energy. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  6. 1 2 Garanovic, Amir (8 September 2021). "Penguin wave energy device starts producing power offshore Basque Country". Offshore Energy. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  7. ↑ Visser, Anne (1 September 2014). "Fortum Takes Stake in Wello Oy". Offshore Wind. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  8. ↑ Garanovic, Amir (20 September 2023). "Wello files for bankruptcy and ceases wave energy operations" . Offshore Energy. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 "UK: Wello's Penguin Wave Energy Converter Performs Successfully". Offshore Wind. 27 August 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  10. 1 2 "Wello extends contract with EMEC for Penguin testing". Offshore Energy. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  11. ↑ "Penguin device goes under". The Orcadian. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  12. ↑ "Periodic Reporting for period 4 - CEFOW (Clean energy from ocean waves) | H2020". CORDIS | European Commission. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  13. ↑ "Clean Energy From Ocean Waves Project". Wave Hub. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  14. 1 2 "Wello launch Penguin WEC2 for H2020 CEFOW array". Renewable Energy Magazine. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  15. ↑ "Orkney picks up a Penguin". ReNEWS. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  16. ↑ IEA-OES (12 March 2020). Annual Report 2019 (Report). p. 141.
  17. ↑ Ajdin, Adis (15 September 2020). "Wello's Penguin set for 2-year trial at BiMEP test site". Offshore Energy. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  18. ↑ "Wello picks Saipem for Penguin trip". ReNEWS.biz. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  19. ↑ IEA-OES (9 March 2022). Annual Report: An Overview of Ocean Energy Activities in 2021 (Report). p. 170.
  20. ↑ "El barco finlandés para extraer energía de las olas se hunde en el Puerto de Bilbao". Crónica Vasca (in Spanish). 9 March 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.