A New Zealand wave power company has won a tick of approval from an international verification agency, Det Norske Veritas (DNV) for having a robust design which can cope with the stresses of being pounded by waves for years on end.DNV certification covers
A New Zealand wave power company has won a tick of approval from an international verification agency, Det Norske Veritas (DNV) for having a robust design which can cope with the stresses of being pounded by waves for years on end.
DNV certification covers not only the design of the device but also ancillary equipment, such as the moorings and risk identification and mitigation.
The design feasibility certification will give investors confidence in the viability of the NZ design, said Power Projects director John Huckerby.
"It shows we have a robust design and have thought through the issues of deployment for the device".
The Wave Energy Technology-New Zealand (WET-NZ) consortium -- a joint venture by state-owned science company Industrial Research Ltd (IRL) and Power Projects, a private Wellington-based company -- has been experimenting with a quarter-scale device generating 2kW of electricity off the Christchurch coast since 2006.
The consortium is also developing a half-scale prototype capable of producing 20kW, using $760,000 in taxpayer cash from the Government's marine energy deployment fund.
This prototype, designed in line with DNV certification principles, will be deployed in Taranaki and Wellington waters in 2011.
Separately, in September, the company gained a $2 million grant from the US Department of Energy to deploy its device in the United States.
WET-NZ will test a quarter-scale version of the device off the coast of Oregon, and carry out detailed scale modelling at the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Centre's wave tanks at Oregon State University.
IRL commercial manager Gavin Mitchell said the certification reflected well on IRL's technical competence in what was a very new and challenging area of engineering and design.
"Due to the harsh operating environment of the ocean there are many variables to contend with in designing such a device."
IRL energy technologist Alister Gardiner said the external audit of the project's progress had boosted confidence in the run-up to confirming design of the half-scale device to be constructed early in 2011.
"The design principles developed will also be built into a more advanced quarter-scale device for deployment in Oregon," he said.
According to Dr Huckerby the waves around New Zealand's coast could produce more than 40 times as much energy as the country's existing power consumption.
"Wave energy converters" could be moored in water 30m-50m deep at sites ranging from the bottom of the South Island up the west coast almost to Cape Reinga.
"Wiring the waves" would give a capability to generate electricity close to the coastal population centres, with peak production from winter storms, just when electricity demand is highest.
Wave energy could help offset the country's "dry-year risk".
Electricity companies have said New Zealand's dams hold less than a couple of months worth of water for generation when a drought cuts the inflows.
