CorPower Ocean - Wave farms

Summary

Foreign is a leading turn-key supplier of wave energy systems, offering innovative solutions for large-scale, sustainable electricity production. Their modular wave energy technology, featuring core pack wave clusters, delivers high-efficiency power generation, comparable to offshore wind turbines. By integrating with offshore wind and floating photovoltaic systems, Foreign enables hybrid energy farms that provide a consistent power profile. Their environmentally friendly, low-cost installation and maintenance processes, combined with advanced anchoring solutions, significantly reduce the cost of 24/7 carbon-free energy, promoting a sustainable future.

Takeaways

• 😀 CorePower is a turn-key supplier of wave energy systems, offering design, manufacturing, and delivery of wave energy equipment to utilities and project developers.
• 😀 The company's wave energy technology is optimized for utility-scale electricity production and uses a modular architecture with standardized core pack wave clusters.
• 😀 Wave farms built with CorePower's technology can generate electricity at scales from hundreds of megawatts to gigawatts, with each coil pack rated at 10 to 20 megawatts, comparable to the largest offshore wind turbines.
• 😀 Power from the wave energy farms is exported via floating electrical collection hubs, which are connected to common export cables to deliver electricity to shore.
• 😀 CorePower's technology is compatible with offshore wind farms and floating photovoltaics (PV), enabling hybrid systems that leverage the complementary power profiles of wave, wind, and PV energy.
• 😀 The company has developed a novel type of monopile anchor called the UMAC anchor, optimized for high uplift and cyclic load capacity in soil seabeds, as well as efficient decommissioning.
• 😀 UMAC anchors are installed using offshore vessels with low-noise vibratory techniques, reducing environmental impact and installation costs compared to traditional anchoring solutions.
• 😀 The electrical intra-array cabling connects wave energy absorbers to the collection hub, with a quick-connect mechanism that enables easy retrieval of wave absorbers for maintenance without disrupting power generation.
• 😀 Wave energy arrays offer high aerial density (15 megawatts per square kilometer), generating three times more power per ocean space than typical offshore wind farms.
• 😀 Integrating wave energy into the energy mix can significantly reduce the cost of 24/7 carbon-free energy and help decrease reliance on fossil fuels, contributing to a more sustainable future.

Q & A

What is CorePower's role in wave energy production?

CorePower is a turn-key supplier of wave energy systems. They design, manufacture, and deliver wave energy farm equipment to utilities, project developers, or independent power producers who own and operate wave farms.

How is CorePower's wave energy technology optimized for utility-scale electricity production?

CorePower's wave energy technology is optimized through a modular architecture that uses standardized core pack wave clusters as building blocks. These modular systems allow the formation of large-scale wave farms ranging from hundreds of megawatts to gigawatts in capacity.

What is the power generation capacity of each wave energy unit?

Each core pack wave unit is rated at 10 to 20 megawatts, which is comparable to the largest offshore wind turbines.

How is the electricity from the wave energy farms exported to shore?

The power is exported through floating electrical collection hubs. These hubs are connected to a common export cable, which delivers the electricity to shore.

Can CorePower's wave energy systems integrate with other renewable energy sources?

Yes, CorePower's wave energy technology is compatible with offshore wind farms, enabling hybrid systems that combine wave and wind power. This integration helps to create a more continuous power profile by leveraging the consistent output of wave energy to complement the variability of wind energy.

What is the UMAC anchor, and what advantages does it offer?

The UMAC anchor is a novel type of monopile developed by CorePower. It is optimized for large uplift and cyclic load capacity in soil seabeds, allowing for efficient decommissioning at the end of the project, leaving no trace in the seabed.

How is the UMAC anchor installed in the seabed?

The UMAC anchor is installed using an offshore installation vessel, where it is vibrated into the seabed with low noise, completing the installation in a matter of minutes. This reduces environmental impact, particularly on marine mammals.

What is the process for installing the wave energy absorbers?

The wave energy absorbers are installed with a simple pull-down method to the anchor. A sheave and pull-in line arrangement allows for fully surface-operated installation and retrieval of the absorbers, reducing operational complexity.

How does the maintenance process work for CorePower's wave energy systems?

Most maintenance can be performed offshore using a small crew vessel, with the wave energy absorbers locked in service mode to allow safe access. For advanced maintenance, the absorbers can be retrieved using a quick-connect mechanism and towed back to port without disrupting power generation.

How does CorePower's wave energy technology compare to traditional offshore wind farms in terms of power density?

CorePower's wave arrays have a high aerial density of 15 megawatts per square kilometer, which is about three times more power per ocean space compared to typical offshore wind farms.

What is the overall environmental and economic benefit of adding wave energy to the energy mix?

Integrating wave energy can significantly reduce the cost of 24/7 carbon-free energy, decreasing dependency on fossil fuels and helping to create a sustainable future by providing more continuous and reliable renewable energy.