Main Activities
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Monitoring is a key activity to the advance of technologies, particularly at a pre-commercial stage. It is important to invest in research & development, establish numerical and experimental simulations, from tests in tanks to feasible technology. However, at the current state of development it is important to validate these experiences on a real scale.
The technology to exploit Wave Energy has presently reached the initial phase of demonstration, after 30 years of R&D. However, contrarily to wind energy, where only one concept remained – one turbine with a horizontal axis with three blades – there still exist a large amount of concepts competing in wave energy. Numerical modeling of the hydrodynamic interaction between maritime agitation and wave energy conversion devices stated with the purpose to understand, in a prompt way, the level of energy absortion and the efficiency of the devices.
In May 2007, the Decree-Law nr. 225/2007 of the Government reestablished the tariff foreseen in the Decree-Law nr. 339-C/2001 of 29 of December for wave energy and introduces some improvements to articulate licensing procedures related to the installation of renewable devices with environmental legislation. The exploitation of wave energy is a potential renewable energy resource that can contribute to a sustainable future. However, this will require environmental impact studies. The participation of the WavEC in European projects has given us the opportunity to work in collaboration with universities receiving students from different countries that develop their internship or final study work with the supervision of WavEC’s team.
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