#Ocean waves gif generator#
#Ocean waves gif trial#

'It's exciting … I hope demand for ocean energy grows from here.' Want more Tasmanian news? 'In our industry, people remember the ones that didn't work, and think, 'Oh well that's ocean energy, so it can't possibly be successful', when in fact that's not true and this unit has proven that. 'Every technology in the world has had failures, but that's really part of experimenting and learning from it and reinventing and growing, so that's the challenge,' Ms Arnold said. 'Solar and wind have received substantial government support … wave is now in that position, it needs policy support and funding, that's vital for the industry taking its next steps,' he said.Įxperts in the field have said the stigma around wave energy converters failing also needed to change for the sector to move forward. 'The Australian oceans have some of the best waves in the world, and waves that are well located to grid access, and to electricity demand, many of us live on the coastline.'īut Mr Geason said more support for the industry was needed. 'Given we are an emerging technology, the very obvious market for us to pursue is the Australian market,' Mr Geason said. Wave Swell said it would 'love' to see another unit operating off the Australian coastline. 'We would hope that maybe seeing it work here on a pilot basis might give them some hope,' Ms Arnold said. 'There's also interest out of Europe, in the United States and India, so we need to identify which projects are the next step for the technology.' 'There are sovereign governments in those islands that are very concerned to ensure that they are building resilient infrastructure so that's also presenting as a very considerable opportunity for us,' he said. The units can also be integrated into being part of a breakwater or sea wall in the ocean - off Pacific Island Nations, for example - to help combat rising sea levels and coastal erosion. King Island sits off Tasmania's north coast, in Bass Strait. 'So for us, it means finding those parties and we will work with them, bringing our knowledge and know-how to help them.' 'In terms of the commercial scale-up … it will most likely be a bigger unit, and also have a bigger engine, so at least five times bigger,' Mr Geason said. Wave Swell said it was open to working with interested companies who would provide the funding and resources to build future units. Can more units now be made?Ī larger unit can be made that generates five times the amount of energy and could be placed off any coastline anywhere in the world. Since then, there have been other units trialled and funding committed for research.

#Ocean waves gif generator#

In 2010, a large wave sunk a wave energy generator off the New South Wales coast, and in 2014 in South Australia, a unit was being towed into position when one of the flotation devices ruptured and it sank. Using the ocean for energy is a concept many companies have tried to harness. The unit can be made five times larger than the pilot converter. 'We have something to showcase that works and now we can build on that and build that customer demand that we're looking for,' said Stephanie Thornton from the Australian Ocean Energy Group. Tidal range technologies harvest the potential energy created by the height difference between high and low tides, and tidal stream technologies capture the kinetic energy of currents flowing in and out of tidal areas, such as seashores. Tidal energy, however, comes in two forms, both of which generate electricity. 'Seeing is believing'Īs defined by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, wave energy is generated by converting the energy within ocean waves into electricity.

#Ocean waves gif trial#

The company said there was a trial in Scotland that was having success too, but that was mainly using tidal energy and did not have the blowhole design. It sits on the seabed and has an opening on one side to allow the movement of the waves in and out of the chamber. Waves go in, rise and fall, and move air up into the turbine, which then converts into power. The 200-kilowatt wave energy converter has no moving parts in the water and uses an oscillating water column design, which essentially mimics a natural blow hole. The generator's design essentially mimics a natural blow hole.