SEA2GRID · Grid connection of Wave Energy Converters: investigation on storage requirements and solutions

"Sea2grid"" project is developed in the field of Renewable Energy and it is targeted towards the exploitation of sea waves for the production of electricity to be injected into the power grid. To allow the grid connection of Wave Energy Converters it is necessary that the delivered power is conveniently smoothed and satisfies strict Grid Codes requirements. This is a critical point for very intermittent sources as sea waves. The lack of established storage solutions to mitigate this problem is, at present, one of the main bottlenecks restraining Wave Energy from grid integration and consequent commercial exploitability. The core of this project is in the systematic investigation of storage alternatives for both single Wave Energy Converters and Wave Parks (Arrays). The state of the art of storage technologies will be considered and analytical models and simulative schemes of the whole “sea to grid” process will be developed. The evaluation of the best options for the grid connection of Wave Energy Converters in terms of required storage elements and/or additional compensation provisions will be the main objective of the project.""