NEW ZEALAND

Gareth Gretton AWATEA and Wellington Institute of Technology

TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION

PROJECTS IN THE WATER

NZ-based Energy Hydraulics (EHL), in partnership with US-based NWEI, conducted a second deployment of the Azura Wave device at the US Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site in Hawaii during 2018. This was a continuation of the testing conducted during 2015-17, with the focus of the 2018 deployment being to test a new float/arm design, and the incorporation of a heave plate. These in-sea tests of a reduced-scale design have informed the development of a full-scale design, which has also been modelled in WEC-SIM, and tested at scale in a wave tank.

PLANNED DEPLOYMENTS

EHL and NWEI have secured a further US$4 million of grant funding from the US DOE to support the development of a full-scale commercial device. This funding is contingent on a further US$4 million of matched funding, which is currently being sought from sources including the NZ Government.

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