Systems will be engineered to withstand storms.Two or three of Oceanlinx’ wave energy converters are expected to be installed north of Maui’s Pa‘uwela Point in a couple of years. In our previous articles in the Maui Weekly, we discussed how the “oscillating water column” (OWC) technology worked and Oceanlinx’ innovative turbine design.
The machines will probably be located more than a half-mile offshore to take advantage of the significant energies in deep ocean swells. Electricity generated onboard will be transmitted via undersea cable to a substation on shore.
Oceanlinx has designed its plants to float, and uses “heave plates” under each of its four “buoyancy module legs.” The OWC chamber and turbine will be mounted between the four legs. (Offshore oil platforms also use heave plates to provide mass and to damp the rise and fall of the platform.)
The floating Oceanlinx devices will, of course, need to be moored to the sea floor to keep them in place and facing in the proper direction. It’s likely that at least four anchor points would be needed per machine; Oceanlinx’ conceptual graphics show an anchor chain attached to each corner, at the buoyancy module legs. The actual mooring system will be designed according to the specific conditions of the ocean bottom at the site.
Keeping an at-sea device safely moored in all kinds of weather can be more complicated than it might seem at first. The stresses on the anchor points and cables in storms are significant and these systems must definitely be well engineered.
In partnership with the state’s energy office, the Maui Weekly provides this feature to help Valley Isle homeowners reduce their utility bills and increase their environmental awareness.