Projects funded under the WEC AOI will be the first step in WPTO’s efforts to support designing, building, and testing WEC systems in the fully energetic wave environment at PacWave-South. This type of full-scale testing in the open ocean is required to accurately access device performance due to limitations inherent in laboratory testing at reduced scales and in simulated wave environments. Lessons learned and data collected during PacWave-South tests will be used to inform the next generation device designs to expeditiously advance wave energy technologies. However, before devices can be tested at PacWave-South, robust system designs that satisfy rigorous engineering requirements and standards that ensure reliable device operation in highly energetic wave climates (> 40 kW/m) must be developed. This builds on previous open-ocean testing at the US Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) in Kaneohe, Hawaii to continue building the foundational knowledge and data that will enable the performance and reliability improvements needed for cost reductions. The wave energy at the PacWav South test site is on average four times more energetic than the WETS test site and provides the forceful conditions necessary to rigorously test the resiliency of devices. Applicants must propose detailed work plans to develop WEC designs that are capable of two years of continuous testing and operations at PacWave-South test site utilizing the physical characteristics and wave climate at that location. The designs must incorporate the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Technical Specifications (TS) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards to ensure that designs are final and fully ready to utilize for future shipyard fabrication and open-water testing via future funding opportunities.
