Organised by Professor Francis Farley FRS, Professor Rod Rainey and Professor John Chaplin
Wave energy machines are now deployed and working, others have clearly failed, new devices are in trial. Speakers will survey the fundamental physics, engineering in the real world, large forces but low velocity, deployment, maintenance and survival: dreams that did not work, what works but is too expensive, what might work better. How much energy is available, what can we expect?
There is an agreed theoretical framework, a guide to what is possible and impossible. The fundamental theory is well understood and the various motions in the sea which can be exploited. Heave, surge and pitch, all have their advantages... and limitations. Many devices work well in the laboratory; but cost, useful life and survival in storms are the crucial factors that determine commercial viability. Industry leaders will share their experiences, describe the status of the best current devices and discuss the potential for worldwide deployment.
Speakers with experience of oil platforms will speak about rogue waves, strength and fatigue, and the regulatory and insurance costs that must be included. Lessons will be drawn from the deployment of wind farms.
Finally leading scientific advisers from UK, Eire, France and Portugal will discus their national plans and possible collaboration in exploiting the wave power of the Atlantic.
The speakers include leading figures in this field and we are asking them not to advertise their favourite systems but rather to present a balanced rational assessment of the possibilities.
Download the programme here (PDF).
Biographies and audio recordings are available below.
The proceedings of this meeting are scheduled to be published in a future issue of Philosophical Transactions A.