Israeli wave energy developer Eco Wave Power has reached 15,000 grid connection hours in its pilot wave power plant in Gibraltar – claiming it to be a new world record.
The 100kW Gibraltar wave energy plant was launched in May 2016 at the ceremony which marked the start of the plant’s operational phase.
Since, the Israeli wave energy developer has accrued 15,000 grid-connection hours – bypassing the previous world record that was set by Carnegie Clean Energy in 2015 with its CETO 5 wave energy array when it clocked 14,000 hours of operation over 12-month period, according to Eco Wave Power.
The plant is located on the Ammunition jetty in the Rock of Gibraltar, and the energy produced from the plant is being purchased by Gibraltar Electric Authority.
Eco Wave Power’s Gibraltar plant features multiple devices in an array. The wave plant’s floaters move up and down with the movement of the waves, and create pressure which is driving a hydro motor and a generator.
The technology also provides smart automation system that controls the power station’s storm-protection mechanism and the stable transmission of clean electricity to the grid.
Also, most of the power plant of EWP is located on land or in the case of Gibraltar – in the tunnel, and operates just like a regular power station.
Since the installation, EWP implemented upgrades to the connections and storm protection mechanisms which were successfully implemented in Gibraltar’s January 2018 storm when wave height reached over 6 meters – twice as high as the height of the jetty – without causing damage to the plant, the company said.
Also, the Gibraltar power plant was able to assist in the validation of the theoretical formulas and enabled the comparison of real production in different wave heights and wave periods to the forecasted production, according to EWP.
Thus, the company said it is now reviewing the possibility of creating a blockchain based knowledge sharing platform, where EWP and other wave energy developers will be able to share their theoretical and practical experience from their installations, in order to assist the commercialization of wave energy around the world.
At the time of the launch of the Gibraltar wave energy power plant, EWP said it plans to expand the station to 1MW initially, and then to 5MW – using the largest EWP wave energy units yet with a targeted capacity of some 10 times of the current generation.