Metal serpent giants subjugate the energy of the seas and oceans with the permission of man. Sounds like a fairy tale, doesn't it?
The waves of the oceans and seas generate a lot of energy. This resource cannot be depleted and its extraction does not have any impact on the environment.
"Volnovaya" is one of the types of power plants. Its purpose is to obtain electricity from the kinetic energy of the waves. The scheme of a wave power plant is almost identical to that of a hydroelectric power plant. The main difference between them is that instead of a falling stream of water, a convector is used, which converts the energy of the waves into electricity.
In 1973, after the oil crisis, the interest of scientists and industrialists in alternative energy (including wave power plants) increased significantly. There were various experimental projects. In particular, the Norwegian wave station (with a capacity of 500 kW) was launched in 1985. Oceanlinx (Australia) is considered the first industrial wave station. It began its work in 2005 (and is still operating).
The first commercial wave power plant (2.3 MW) was officially commissioned in 2008. The development of the project began in 1998 by engineers from Pelamis Wave (Scotland). Almost immediately, the company faced an acute shortage of funds for its construction.
In 2002, the first model was created, thanks to a grant received for further development.
In 2005, Pelamis Wave Power signed a contract worth 8 million euros with the Portuguese energy company Enersis. This is exactly what it took to build the station.
The power plant was located in Portugal, in the Agusador region, at a distance of five kilometers from the coast. Its capacity was 2.30 MW. This is enough to power 1,600 homes.
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It was originally planned that the station will start working in 2006, but it took another two years to bring it into operation. The official opening took place at the end of September 2008 by the Minister of Economy of Portugal.
The amazing mechanism consists of four devices. The serpentine structures, half-submerged in water, are interconnected by special hinges with hydraulic pistons. Each of these unusual structures has gigantic dimensions: length - 120 m, diameter - 3.5 m, weight - 750 tons. The power of one section is 750 kW. Approximately 1% of the excitement energy is converted into electricity.
Each converter has three modules that convert energy. It is a very complex closed-circuit hydraulic system, in which hydraulic motors pump oil and cause generators to rotate, which produce electricity.
Pelamis P-750 sways on the waves, bending at the junctions of the elements, and resembles a giant metal snake. That is why the station was nicknamed "sea-snake" - "sea snake".
The location of the structure is also important. The converters should be placed in areas where there are more waves: the more the P-750 sways, the more power will be generated.
At the end of 2008, the incredible rig was shut down and the Pelamis Wave Power was returned to fix the joint hinge flaws. Financial difficulties arose and the project was officially closed.
The unpleasant end of this story is the suspicion of industrial espionage. The basis for this opinion was a similar design presented by a Chinese company in the fall of 2016. Allegedly in 2011, after a visit of representatives of this company to Pelamis Wave Power, employees discovered the loss of several laptops.
The splash of powerful waves, the continuous swaying of huge metal sections and the roar of hydraulic turbines are another of the melodies of progress.
