ERDC’s Field Research Facility Deploys Largest Wave Energy Converter in U.S.

The Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Field Research Facility (FRF) in Duck, N.C., recently hosted Resolute Marine Energy for a full-scale test and evaluation of their surge wave energy converter (WEC).

Resolute Marine Energy is a Boston, Mass.-based company developing technologies that produce clean energy from ocean waves.

The WEC is designed to generate electricity by using wave orbital velocities to actuate a paddle, which pivots on an axis along its lower edge, supported by a pair of rotary hydraulic pumps that capture energy from the oscillating motion induced by passing waves.

The FRF used its Lighter Amphibious Resupply Cargo vehicle to tow the WEC through the surf zone.

An acoustic wave and current sensor was deployed to measure waves to help manage settings to maximize power production based on the incoming wave field.

A potential exists for future research regarding the WEC’s implications on slowing erosion by removing energy from waves.

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Press release, February 28, 2013; Image: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers