Ann Arbor Times

The University of Michigan has received approximately $5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance research on wave energy devices and offshore wind technology. The grants aim to enhance the durability, reduce noise levels, and improve testing processes for these renewable energy sources.

Lei Zuo, the Herbet C. Sadler Collegiate Professor of Engineering at the university, is leading these projects with contributions from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Sandia National Labs, the American Bureau of Shipping, and Virginia Tech.

Ocean waves and offshore winds represent a significant potential energy source. In the United States alone, ocean waves could provide power equivalent to nearly 60% of current electricity production. Globally, offshore wind energy has the capacity to meet 18 times the world's electricity needs.

Despite this potential, marine energy technologies are not as prevalent as solar panels or land turbines due to challenges such as harsh ocean conditions that can damage equipment. To address this issue, one project focuses on developing shock absorbers that protect mooring lines from breaking while also generating small amounts of electricity for device sensors.

"It can cost around two million dollars to fix a mooring line that is only 30 to 80 meters deep," said Zuo. "It’s best to create as robust a system as possible."

Environmental concerns regarding noise pollution affecting marine life are also being addressed through innovations like balloon curtains and metal poles designed to contain sound waves produced by turbines.

The remaining grants will facilitate improved testing methods for wave energy converters by allowing engineers to evaluate prototype components more accurately before deploying them in real-world environments. Current practices require smaller-scale models tested in wave tanks due to cost and risk factors associated with full-scale ocean trials.

"Ideally, we would build and fully test a device that is half or one-third the size of an ocean-scale device before we’d deploy it in the ocean," Zuo explained. The new hardware-in-loop platforms will allow for comprehensive assessments under realistic conditions without immediate exposure to field trials.

Collaborators on these projects include Xiaofan Li from the University of Hong Kong and David Dowling from U-M's Marine and Offshore Design Performance program.