PORT HUENEME, Calif. (NNS) — Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAC EXWC) is pleased to announce the most recent round of Wave Energy Converter (WEC) testing at the U.S. Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) off Marine Corps Base Hawai’i (MCBH), Kaneohe, Hawai’i, on the Island of O’ahu.
In October 2018, the Applied Research Laboratory at the University of Hawai’i (ARL at UH), with funding from NAVFAC, and in partnership with the University of Washington, Fred. Olsen, Ltd., and Sea Engineering, Inc., began the second round of testing of the Fred. Olsen (of Norway) “BOLT Lifesaver” WEC device. The device uses three power take-off (PTO) units that convert the motion of the passing waves to electrical power by way of rotary electrical generators. Control and health-monitoring of these on-board systems are housed in the Control Center. The WEC is not connected to shore, and the power generated is stored in a battery bank.