Cost Optimization of Mooring Solutions for Large Floating Wave Energy Converters

• Main Authors: Jonas Bjerg Thomsen, Francesco Ferri, Jens Peter Kofoed, Kevin Black
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-01-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: mooring; station keeping; wave energy; optimization; meta-model; surrogate model; cost; wave energy converters (WEC)
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/1/159

The increasing desire for using renewable energy sources throughout the world has resulted in a considerable amount of research into and development of concepts for wave energy converters. By now, many different concepts exist, but still, the wave energy sector is not at a stage that is considered commercial yet, primarily due to the relatively high cost of energy. A considerable amount of the wave energy converters are floating structures, which consequently need mooring systems in order to ensure station keeping. Despite being a well-known concept, mooring in wave energy application has proven to be expensive and has a high rate of failure. Therefore, there is a need for further improvement, investigation into new concepts and sophistication of design procedures. This study uses four Danish wave energy converters, all considered as large floating structures, to investigate a methodology in order to find an inexpensive and reliable mooring solution for each device. The study uses a surrogate-based optimization routine in order to find a feasible solution in only a limited number of evaluations and a constructed cost database for determination of the mooring cost. Based on the outcome, the mooring parameters influencing the cost are identified and the optimum solution determined.