Oscilla Power was named as one of the 5 finalists for the 2023 Wilkes Center Climate Prize at the University of Utah.
By 2050, it’s estimated that 44% of our electricity will be produced with fossil fuels, nowhere near the 100% renewable energy target. This is mostly due to addressing the variability of the time of day and year when solar and wind generate the most electricity. While energy storage solutions can smooth out the transitions between energy production and usage, storage units don’t produce power and only increases the cost of energy.
“Ideally what we need is another renewable resource that can fill in the gaps when solar and wind are just not generating. We believe that resource is ocean waves. Seasonally, waves are an outstanding complement to solar and wind.” said Mundon. He gives the example for California energy production of seasonal solar, wind and waves. “Solar and wind peaks in the summer, while wave peaks during the winter…and don’t forget that waves are also more consistent on a daily basis than both solar or wind.”
Ocean wave energy has the potential to rise to 50% of global electricity demand, but efficiency, survivability and cost are the main reasons why it hasn’t been adopted. Oscilla Power has developed the Triton, a one-megawatt wave energy converter that would be installed in an array, similar to wind turbines using far less area and almost zero visibility. The high-efficiency wave energy capture system generates power using relative motion two bodies—the different motion between a floating hull and a suspended underwater ring. It’s unique three-tendon architecture translates every wave motion into mechanical energy used to generate electricity. They’ve shown that it can survive the most extreme ocean conditions. Their testing and design addresses each of the three barriers to wave energy that they say can ultimately be competitive with most solar and wind energy.
For more information about the Wilkes Climate Prize and all of the finalists please visit:
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