– This wave power plant will replace the energy installations and energy generators we have today. That’s what the then oil and energy minister Kåre Kristiansen (KrF) said when he opened the wave power plant on Toftøyna in Øygarden outside Bergen in 1985. Almost 40 years have passed since then and western winter storms have wreaked havoc with the dream of wave power. Symbolized by the fact that all that is left of the plant on Toftøyna are concrete elements and rusted rebar. And in the meantime, new energy hopes emerged: offshore wind, bioenergy, geothermal energy, solar energy and hydrogen. While the vision of wave power stilled. Now several people are asking whether the strained energy situation in combination with new technology means that the wave power sketches should come up from the desk drawer again. Two companies tried different solutions to exploit wave power in Øygarden. Both times the plant crashed. Photo: Per Christian Magnus / news Wave power One of the oldest principles of wave power is to utilize a so-called oscillating column of water. You create a water piston inside a cylinder, which creates pressure and vacuum. In this way, you get a turbine that stands above the water and that makes the wave power plant spin around, and that creates energy. The European Energy Forum estimates that wave energy can deliver 10 percent of Europe’s electrical power production by 2050. Source: Enerwe Partner and Havkraft AS – Can be a joker in the energy crisis In a so-called interpellation, Liberal representative Alfred Bjørlo asks what the minister and the government will do to ensure that Norway will again become a leading nation in wave power technology. – Wave power can be a joker in the energy crisis we are now experiencing, says Bjørlo to news. The European Energy Forum has calculated that wave power can supply 10 per cent of Europe’s electrical power production by 2050. In the Energy Report, which the Storting agreed in June, wave power is mentioned in positive terms, without particularly binding wording. Bjørlo adds that rapid technological development is taking place, and that it is only a matter of time before “the code is cracked”. On Wednesday this week, he will travel to Svanøy outside Florø, where the Måløy company Havkraft is building a pilot plant for wave power in collaboration with the farming industry. – My impression is that many people think this is good in theory, but that little has happened in practice. Perhaps the pilot project in Florø can give us better and more concrete answers, says Sofie Marhaug (Raudt) in the energy and environment committee at the Storting. – We have to think about diversity in the energy mix MDG grid manager Arild Hermstad is among those who have seen the pilot project in Florø. – This is a small-scale plant which of course does not solve the entire energy crisis on its own, but one of many solutions which should be part of a diverse mix of energy sources. He adds: – The government must look at the possibilities of stimulating this type of solution. Wave power is not a quick fix, but we have to think about diversity in the energy mix. Answer from the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in the fact box. – We never close the door to new, exciting technologies such as wave power State Secretary Elisabeth Sæther (Ap) in the Ministry of Oil and Energy – In the demanding situation we are in with the high electricity prices, we must be prepared for this situation to continue. Therefore, when we plan for the long term, more renewable power is among the things that work. In the first instance, we will therefore pick the more low-hanging fruit, such as hydropower, wind power on land and at sea and not least the development of solar power. But we never close the door to new, exciting technologies such as wave power. That’s why we have established remedies in Norway that facilitate just this. Through various programs in the Research Council of Norway, Enova and Innovation Norway, it is possible to apply for support for the development and innovation of Norwegian wave power technology. But it requires that the Norwegian research and technology community and the business world come up with relevant wave power projects, and that these come up in competition with other energy technology projects. In recent years, however, there has not been particularly great interest from the energy industry in the development of wave power. SINTEF Energi and SINTEF Ocean now participated in a newly started European collaboration project that will demonstrate the next generation test methodology for wave power converters, also called Power Take Offs. Sintef Energi’s project manager, Hans Christian Bolstad, tells Fiskeribladet that wave power is “roughly 15 years behind offshore wind”. – An enormous power potential in wave and tidal power Ola Elvestuen, parliamentary representative for the Liberal Party and member of the Energy and Environment Committee – There is an enormous power potential in wave and tidal power. Although technological development and cost reductions have not been as fast as for solar and wind power, there has nevertheless been a strong development also for wave and tidal power. The strained power situation in Europe makes it quite clear that it is even more important to invest in wave and tidal power. This is an important climate measure. In the fight to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees, there is a need for enormous amounts of renewable energy. To make that happen, it is also absolutely necessary to develop large, stable energy sources such as tidal and wave power. Knut Fjerdingstad, Statkraft – Statkraft is positive about wave and tidal power if it can be done profitably and environmentally friendly, but we have no plans to invest in that technology now. Statkraft’s investment area going forward does not include wave/tidal power, but water, wind and green hydrogen. The aim is to develop up to 30 GW of new renewable production capacity before the end of the decade. This means that over the next eight years, Statkraft can increase its total power production by up to 50 per cent from today, to around 100 TWh. Leif Lia, professor at NTNU – The potential in wave power along the Norwegian coast is of course great, but low energy concentration will necessarily result in large installations to extract a lot of energy. Large installations heavily dimensioned to withstand the rough coast will result in high costs, which will require a high level of the electricity price to be profitable. There is little research in this area at NTNU at the moment, but certainly high energy prices can change this. Simpler technology such as ENØK, energy recovery, power saving and the like will probably give faster results than large-scale investment in wave power. In short term. This is a wave power generator, developed by the western company Havkraft. For two years, the company has tested the technology at Stadhavet. Illustration: Sea power Higher power prices and more robust solutions can make sea power competitive – Large wave and temporary water resources mean that Norway has special prerequisites for developing this technology, says director of renewable energy at Energi Noreg, Eivind Heløe. He points out that the green shift requires “a whole range of new renewable technologies”, and that “tidal power is probably one of these”. – The physical stresses the plant is subjected to mean that the technology has not been competitive. But higher power prices, combined with intensified research efforts in the field, will probably change this, he says. The head of the Nature Conservation Association, Truls Gulowsen, says a lot has happened since the damage-prone “wedge technology” from the 80s and that he has more faith in newer and “buoy-based approaches” (see picture below). – I still believe that wave power can contribute valuable energy, he says. The company Ocean Energy has developed a storm buoy that sinks below the surface during a storm and thus “rides the weather off” while the generator itself is placed safely on the seabed. – We have a bad time Member of the energy and environment committee for the Progress Party, Marius Arion Nilsen, specifies that the prerequisite for all public investment must be that it is profitable. – The role of the politicians is to facilitate good framework conditions for the development of power, while the industry has the technological competence to drive the development forward, he says. Director of the environmental foundation Zero, Sigrun Aasland, tells news that “no technologies should be neglected”, but that the time calls for quick and familiar solutions. – There is a lot of searching for creative solutions now. But we are short on time and we actually know what we have to do: energy efficiency and development of solar, wind and hydro power. We cannot avoid that, and it is urgent. – Wave power can be a joker in the energy crisis we are now experiencing, says Alfred Bjørlo (V). Photo: Waves4Power
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The electricity crisis gives new life to the idea of wave power – news Vestland
