Because a wave energy farm has no control over converging waves, the wave energy conversion devices themselves must be controlled. PMEC researchers study device control methods that can allow operators to get the power they want, when they want it.
PMEC - The Promise of the Ocean, the Challenge of the Problem, and the Blending of Disciplines
An individual may never be an expert in marine energy. There are plenty of experts working in the field, but they are experts in hydrodynamics, acoustics, control systems, design, oceanography, coastal dynamics, sociology, community dynamics, marine biology, naval engineering, mechanics, robotics, natural resource management, or one of many other disciplines which make up the community here at PMEC. That’s right, they are all here - and that is what makes PMEC so special.
Wave Energy Prize winners, Aquaharmonics, test wave energy converter at O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory
After 11 days of testing in the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Lab (HWRL), Alex Hagmuller and Max Ginsburg of Aquaharmonics left with high hopes. The team of Oregon State University graduates is testing a 1/20th scale version of the device concept that won the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wave Energy Prize.