Past Projects
Oceanlinx has built and operated three wave energy projects in the past. Each of these has been located at Port Kembla, approximately 100km south of Sydney, Australia. These projects have been the precursors to the latest versions of the Oceanlinx technology - the greenWAVE and blueWAVE products.
Mk1 Full Scale Prototype
The Oceanlinx Mk1 full scale prototype was fitted out and first deployed in 2005. The approximately 500 tonne device used a parabolic wall to concentrate the wave energy into its 100 square metre Oscillating Water Chamber (OWC). The device made use of a Denniss-Auld turbine.
The Mk1 Full Scale prototype was one of the first full scale wave energy devices in the world. Its operation between 2005 and 2009 has provided invaluable test and operational data guiding the development of subsequent designs.
Google Earth Satellite Image: Mk1 – Full Scale Prototype
Mk2 1/3 Scale
Oceanlinx built and deployed an instrumented 1/3rd scale test unit of its Mk2 WEC in late 2007 and early 2008. The purpose of the Mk2 1/3 Scale was to obtain detailed technical data for floating devices.
Google Earth Satellite Image: Mk2 – One third scale prototype
Mk3 Pre Commercial
Port Kembla was the site of Oceanlinx's most recent wave energy converter design – the Mk3 Pre-Commercial. The Mk3 Pre-Commercial, or Mk3PC for short, was a demonstration scale device that is identifiably similar to the fully commercial blueWAVE design, but was designed to be limited in its life, operations, and scale to suit both the environment at Port Kembla and its purpose as a demonstration of the technology.
The Mk3PC was installed at Port Kembla on 26 February 2010, about 100 metres off the eastern breakwater of Port Kembla Harbour. It was connected to the grid and provided electricity from 19 March to May 14 2010 to customers of local retailer, Integral Energy. The Mk3PC is believed to have been the first of its size in Australia to be grid connected, and one of the first in the world.
MK3PC installed at Port Kembla. MK3 Design Sketch.
The official launch of the MK3PC project took place on 29 March 2010 in Port Kembla and was attended by a variety of dignitaries, including four Australian Federal and State MPs (see photos below). The plaque commemorating the event was unveiled by The Honourable Peter Garrett, Federal Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts, Commonwealth of Australia.
While the MK3PC was designed for a shorter than normal life, it served the very important and specific function of verifying the performance of the Oceanlinx blueWAVE product in open ocean conditions, as well as its ability to provide acceptable grid-quality power to an established electricity retailer. The MK3PC immediately proved successful in achieving these aims, and validated the ability of the full scale blueWAVE design to be rated at 2.5 MW.
Images from the Launch Ceremony, 29 March 2010
MK3PC Performs Better Than Expected
Results from the one-third scale model of the Oceanlinx floating wave energy technology, dubbed the MK3PC, have exceeded expectations in regard to performance. The unit was deployed for three months, from February to May, 2010, and operated successfully during that time as one of the world’s first grid-connected generators of electricity from ocean waves.