Παραγωγή ενέργειας από τα παράκτια κύματα

Abstract

Economy progress, the modernization of the current trend of living, and the improvement in living standards, coupled with the fact that people consume enormous amounts of energy in order to improve the quality of their lives, lead to the phenomenon of exponential growth in energy demand. Until a few years ago, global energy needs were predominantly covered by fossil fuels, but uncontrolled consumption had a large number of negative impacts on the environment and on humanity itself. The combination of these problems, and the upcoming depletion of fossil fuels reserves, led us to the conclusion that the development and implementation of renewable energy sources is the only way to go. A promising renewable energy source, which can be used to meet current energy demand, is wave energy, which is also the main subject of this dissertation. The aim of this diploma thesis, has been the study of wave energy technologies and coastal waves energy converters, in order to select the most appropriate system, based on Cyprus sea and seabed conditions. Initially, an extensive study, and a comparison between some of the most important energy converters that have been developed and tested over the past years is implemented. Furthermore, this thesis looks into the factors and parameters which should be taken into consideration when choosing a wave energy converter installation site. Based on those factors, and parameters, the selection of the most suitable location on the coast of Cyprus, is performed, with a view to constructing in place, a wave energy pilot system. Based on the characteristics of the installation site, the appropriate wave energy converter is chosen. After the selection process, a study is carried out regarding the parameters that govern the chosen wave energy converter. In addition, a mechanical analysis and material selection is performed, for the basic equipment and the main parts of the chosen wave energy converter. Following the previous analysis, is the presentation of the engineering drawings, for the basic equipment and the main parts of the chosen system. The design of the engineering drawings is carried out with using "SOLIDWORKS" CAD software. Finally, an economic analysis, including both economic viability analysis, and risk analysis is performed, for the proposed wave energy project. The analysis is carried out using “RETscreen Expert” software, which is an intelligent decision support tool, used for evaluating the performance of clean energy projects.