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Although research has been going on for the last 25 years
within the field, it has not yet been possible to exploit
wave energy to any considerable state.
The reasons for this are many.
Firstly, several devices have experienced technical problems
both in terms of survivability and in the energy conversion
process itself. Secondly wave energy research is quite expensive
due to the naval and heavy engineering nature of the field.
The idea behind the establishment of the EC funded Wave
Energy Network was to analyse the issues underlying this limited
success, the current knowledge and present recommendations
for the future development.
This included a variety of issues, ranging from device specific
technical issues, grid connection issues, financing issues,
legal issues and environmental impacts.
The timing of these efforts appears to be important, as several
European Wave Energy Converters are expected to be deployed
in real sea during the coming years. The work from this project
will therefore be of aid to the device developers, when engaging
in full-scale prototype deployment.
Within this project, we were primarily responsible for the
development of safety standards for wave power conversion
systems, conflicts on interest, environmental impact, planning
considerations and financing issues.
A report has been published with the results and conclusions of the network . The sections for which we were responsible, are available
in a PDF file:
Final Report from European Wave Energy Thematic Network. Section E: Social Planning & Environmental Impact
Furthermore the individual draft reports can be downloaded:
The Full Report (size: 5.6MB!) is availabe from the network homepage.
Finally, the following articles can be highly recommended as they present an up-to-date overview regarding status and perspectives of
wave energy:
If you want further information about the network, please visit the homepage of the Wave Energy Network
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