Pelamis Wave energy converters

Ocean Power Delivery Ltd has developed this novel offshore wave energy converter called Pelamis. Building on technology developed for the offshore industry, the Pelamis has a similar output to a modern wind turbine. Goodwin supplied the castings used in the Pelamis P1A machines for the Aguçadoura wave farm  in Portugal.

The £6m Pelamis wave energy project will generate 2.25 megawatts - enough for 1,500 households.

Scottish Power have announced that they are to commission four more at the European Marine Energy Centre (Emec) on Orkney.

Goodwin castings for Portugal wave farm

Goodwin supplied 37 off ram castings at 1,150kg and 37 off bearing castings at 1,750kg for the Portugal wave farm these rams and bearings are fabricated into the modules to form the hinges.

These castings were simulated on a thermal analysis computer system to ensure freedom from internal defects and supplied to site ready prepared for fabrication.

How the wave power system works

The Pelamis is a semi-submerged, articulated structure composed of cylindrical sections linked by hinged joints. The wave-induced motion of these joints is resisted by hydraulic rams, which pump high-pressure oil through hydraulic motors via smoothing accumulators. The hydraulic motors drive electrical generators to produce electricity. Power from all the joints is fed down a single umbilical cable to a junction on the sea bed.

The 750kw full-scale system that Goodwin provided the hinge castings for is 120m long and 3.5 m in diameter and contains three Power Conversion Modules, each rated at 250kW.