NEW ZEALAND
TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION
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The big story in the technology space was the success of AzuraWave. The initial technology development, called Wave Energy Technology New Zealand or WETNZ, was conducted by Callaghan Innovation (formerly Industrial Research Limited), which is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute. Since development began in 2006, the technology has advanced from initial concept to open ocean pilot testing. Recognizing the potential of the US market, NWEI began collaborating with Callaghan to further develop and optimize the technology. Since commencing operations in 2010, NWEI and its partners have successfully completed pilot scale projects in New Zealand and Oregon, and NWEI is now deployed as a grid connected demonstration project at the US Navy’s wave energy test site at the Marine Corps Base in Hawai’i. Unlike other wave energy technologies, AzuraWave extracts energy from both the heave (vertical) and surge (horizontal) motion of the wave, producing power from the relative rotational motion between the hull and float. The Power Take-Off (PTO) system is based on high pressure hydraulics and is located within the PowerPod. |
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