TY - JOUR

T1 - Advancement of Oscillating Water Column Wave Energy Technologies through Integrated Applications and Alternative Systems

AU - Doyle, Simeon

AU - Aggidis, George

PY - 2020/12/22

Y1 - 2020/12/22

N2 - Wave energy converter technologies continue to showgood progress in worldwide research. One of the most researchedtechnologies, the Oscillating Water Column (OWC), is arguably oneof the most popular categories within the converter technologies dueto its robustness, simplicity and versatility. However, the versatilityof the OWC is still largely untapped with most deploymentsfollowing similar trends with respect to applications and operatingsystems. As the competitiveness of the energy market continues toincrease, the demand for wave energy technologies to be innovativealso increases. For existing wave energy technologies, this requiresidentifying areas to diversify for lower costs of energy with respect toapplications and synergies or integrated systems. This paper providesa review of all OWCs systems integrated into alternative applicationsin the past and present. The aspects and variation in their design,deployment and system operation are discussed. Particular focus is given to the Multi-OWCs (M-OWCs) and their great potential to increase capture on a larger scale, especially in synergy applications. It is made clear that these steps need to be taken in order to make wave energy a competitive and viable option in the renewable energy mix as progression to date shows that stand alone single function devices are not economical. Findings reveal that the trend of development is moving toward these integrated applications in order to reduce the Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) and will ultimately continue in this direction in efforts to make wave energy a competitive option in the renewable energy mix.

AB - Wave energy converter technologies continue to showgood progress in worldwide research. One of the most researchedtechnologies, the Oscillating Water Column (OWC), is arguably oneof the most popular categories within the converter technologies dueto its robustness, simplicity and versatility. However, the versatilityof the OWC is still largely untapped with most deploymentsfollowing similar trends with respect to applications and operatingsystems. As the competitiveness of the energy market continues toincrease, the demand for wave energy technologies to be innovativealso increases. For existing wave energy technologies, this requiresidentifying areas to diversify for lower costs of energy with respect toapplications and synergies or integrated systems. This paper providesa review of all OWCs systems integrated into alternative applicationsin the past and present. The aspects and variation in their design,deployment and system operation are discussed. Particular focus is given to the Multi-OWCs (M-OWCs) and their great potential to increase capture on a larger scale, especially in synergy applications. It is made clear that these steps need to be taken in order to make wave energy a competitive and viable option in the renewable energy mix as progression to date shows that stand alone single function devices are not economical. Findings reveal that the trend of development is moving toward these integrated applications in order to reduce the Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) and will ultimately continue in this direction in efforts to make wave energy a competitive option in the renewable energy mix.

KW - ocean energy

KW - wave energy

KW - oscillating water column

KW - renewable energy

KW - review

M3 - Journal article

VL - 14

SP - 401

EP - 412

JO - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering

JF - International Journal of Energy and Power Engineering

IS - 12

ER -