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2024-11-11

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Interesting Engineering: Hybrid energy raft could power 1,000 homes a day with wave, wind, solar (interestingengineering.com)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/science

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NoviOcean’s wave power technology, developed over several years, has been tested in wave pools and a real environment near Stockholm. A small version powers homes on Svanholmen island, proving the concept works at sea.

On one square kilometer, 15 wave power plants can generate 15 MW, compared to offshore wind’s 10 MW. Combined, they can produce 25 MW, sharing the costs of the sea area and transmission cable.

According to the firm, the hybrid approach delivers more consistent energy, as waves generate power for days after the wind subsides. Additionally, wave plants can be placed closer to shore without visually disturbing the coastline.

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[–] BluesF 23 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I get the appeal of having a mixture of renewable generation methods, but is it really the best way to jsht put them all on one structure? Do waves not somewhat inferfere with the action of both solar panels (which will not be properly aligned of they're rocking about) and turbines (which surely suffer if they are in turbulent airflow thanks to being jostled about)?

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 month ago

Honestly, I think this is cool, and maybe even efficient. But I laughed when I saw it: "let's put ALL OF THE THINGS ON IT!"

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

I speculate that this balanced out by the fact that a single one of these can more easily connect to the power grid and are more efficient to deploy and maintain in large quantities.

You could place these almost anywhere and they will generate something.

[–] Frozengyro 4 points 1 month ago

Yea, but I would imagine the upkeep and maintenance on these, especially due to being in salt water, is higher than it needs to be. Simple is generally better for these things.

[–] BluesF 3 points 1 month ago

I can definitely see them being useful in remote areas where large scale power generation projects are not viable.

[–] noughtnaut 6 points 1 month ago

The pictured kings of turbine works very well with wind from any direction. I'd be more concerned about having low friction bearings so cost to sea water.