Pelamis Wave Energy Converter

To meet the growing renewable energy need, many utilities have been built to extract energy from natural resources. The Pelamis wave energy converter is one of them. It is basically an offshore semi-submerged float type device operating in such a location where the depth of sea water is 50 m or more. This chapter describes different aspects of Pelamis technology along with its features. The current energy policy and estimation of wave energy are presented. Power capture by Pelamis and its survivability attributes are depicted. The power train of Pelamis, its resonant and benign response along with the tuned response are described. The strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat of this device are mentioned in detail with their challenges and possible solutions. An integration of energy storage and its importance are illustrated to obtain intermittent power. Environmental, ecological, and economic factors are discussed as well.