Damage prompts Waves4Power to end Runde wave tests earlier

Waves4Power has decided to recover the WaveEL wave energy buoy earlier than anticipated due to the damage on the unit’s anchoring lines.

The Swedish wave energy developer Waves4Power informed on November 24, 2017, it ended the tests at the Runde site off Norway about one month earlier than originally planned, due to the damage on the system’s anchoring lines.

The WaveEL buoy, which suffered no damage, will be towed to Fiskåholmen, after producing power for the Norwegian for more than 5 months.

Each of the mooring lines has a break load of 120 tons and they are designed to withstand the 24-meter high waves, according to Waves4Power.

“We are now making a thorough analysis of the anchoring system and an assessment of what has happened and how the damage has occurred. Once this work is completed we will distribute more information to all stakeholders,” Waves4Power said in a statement.

The aim of the Runde demonstration system was to prove the concept and to gather important data for the development and serial production of the next generation of the system, the WaveEL 4.0.

Waves4Power said that all the important data needed for its further work with the next generation of wave power plants has been completed.

WaveEL device produces electricity using hydraulic pump which is connected to the accumulator that feeds a hydraulic motor with a generator, which in turn converts the hydraulic pressure to electric power.

As reported earlier, the production site for the next-gen Waves4Power’s device is planned at the former shipyard at Fiskåholmen in the municipality of Vanylven on the Norwegian west coast, with the first roll-outs expected in 2018.