CHENNAI: Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) Researchers are working towards developing better turbines that can harness the power of ocean waves to generate electricity, said a statement issued by IITM.
The most recent studies on turbine-chamber coupling have been published in the reputed peer-reviewed International Journal of Energy Research. The research is being headed at IIT Madras by Abdus Samad, associate professor, department of Ocean Engineering. It is being done in collaboration with National Institute of Ocean Technology, and is funded by Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. The study focuses on improving the devices and machines used for wave energy harvesting.
According to Samad, some of the challenges to realizing practical wave energy includes the fact that while waves harbor copious energy, they are also unsteady and the ocean has unpredictable forces acting on the energy devices. Hence efficient recovery of energy from waves hinges on improving the performance of devices that convert inconsistent wave movement to electricity is a big challenge.
The statement said the turbines being developed by the research team are for the floating and fixed wave devices being developed at NIOT. The turbine is the heart of the wave energy system and a huge amount
of research works are being done on its design, testing and analysis.
The statement says the team offers a good launchpad for future research in the area of wave power. The increasing demand for energy and dwindling fossil fuel resources are most challenging problems of the global economy. Hence there is an urgent need to develop renewable energy resources.
“India’s long coastline and many estuaries and gulfs provide ample opportunities to harness wave power to meet rising energy needs,” said Samad.