Wave energy device passes regulatory test for application

China has made vital progress in developing wave energy devices which make it possible to generate electricity when the wave is less than half a meter high, laying the foundation for wave power generation in the future.

A wave energy device developed by the No.38 Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation has passed the acceptance test of the State Oceanic Administration of China, the Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.

The institute has made important progress in key technologies of the wave energy device such as wave power hydraulic transmission and device control.

Nearly three months' experiments on the sea proved that the device can generate electricity stably, said the Xinhua report.

The institute spent a total of three years to develop the device on South China's Hainan island. With the help of a comprehensive intelligent control technology, the team enhanced the effect of energy absorption and developed a new stabilization technology to accomplish an effective conversion from ocean wave energy to kilovolt-level power.

Wang Zhenshou, director of the device development project, told Xinhua that the floaters of the device could float on the water on normal days and be curled to the shore when a storm came, noting that installed capacity of the device is 5 kilowatts, which is expandable.

According to a 2012 report on China's oceanic renewable energy, the reserve of China's coastal waters is equivalent to about 1.7 billion kilowatts and 600 million kilowatts of that is technically convertible.

There is a huge potential for wave power to become a key source of clean and renewable energy in the future.

China established a special fund for renewable ocean energy in May 2010. The fund has invested about 1 billion yuan ($147 million) in supporting 96 programs so far.