Deriving their name from the Pelamis platurus, a species of tropical sea snake, Edinburgh-based Pelamis Wave Power (formerly Ocean Power Delivery) are making their debut off the coast of Portugal with a curious, crimson-hued monstrosity. Believe the hype! Ride the snake!
From the Pelamis website:
The Pelamis [Wave Energy Converter] is a semi-submerged, articulated structure composed of cylindrical sections linked by hinged joints. The wave-induced motion of these joints is resisted by hydraulic rams, which pump high-pressure oil through hydraulic motors via smoothing accumulators. The hydraulic motors drive electrical generators to produce electricity. Power from all the joints is fed down a single umbilical cable to a junction on the sea bed. Several devices can be connected together and linked to shore through a single seabed cable.
Measuring 120m long and 3.5m in diameter, the 750kw full-scale prototype of the Pelamis WEC appears well-suited to squeeze the energy out of every Atlantic wave it encounters. The Portuguese wave farm will have three of these units with a generating capacity of 2.25MW, enough electricity to power nearly 2,000 homes.
The three WECs will soon be towed three miles from the coast of northern Portugal at Agucadoura, from where the electricity they produce will be pumped into the national grid. The wave farm is expected to be operational within the end of the year.
What fun! Pelamis even goes so far to provide a handy-dandy wave resource world map, illustating geographical hotspots for future wave energy generation. Looks as though Alaska could use a little less oil drilling and a little more snake riding.
