Ocean Wave Energy Company

OWECO Ocean Wave Energy Company is developing the OWEC® Ocean Wave Energy Converter. The Company mission provides for self stabilized modules having qualities of high electrical generation efficiency from water waves, rugged reliability, low maintenance, and low true cost. OWEC® was invented by then 20 year old architecture student with growing interest in industrial design. As participant in a studio, "Ocean Habitat", having primary design focus on living and research spaces at water's edge, on the ocean hydroface, or in submerged environs, the inventor made organics sketches including photosynthetically activated building constructions, floating wind converters, and research spheres arranged to generally resemble octopus shapes. Spherical bodies would be interconnected by new materials, analogous to muscle tissue, that electrochemically contract or expand to situate spheres at various depths and height of research interest. While technologically unfeasible in 1978, further exploration disclosed water waves nature and, particularly, attenuation of water particle motion correspondent to depth. Concepts of modularity and neutral buoyancy embellished the technical approach. Simple beginnings rendered preliminary design drawings of the first thus termed OWEC® "Ocean Wave Energy Converter". Table tennis ball and wire sketch models were tested in water filled wastebaskets and at bay side. Within two weeks of OWEC® inception, adverse effects of petroleum combustion caused a friend's death and extreme illness to the inventor. During recovery, a special study program permitted focused  OWEC® technology development leading to graduation and 1980 U.S. Patent 4,232,230. The inventor's quest is to formulate non-polluting electrical generation means, devoid of carbon monoxide toxins, that produce fresh water and hydrogen gas.

OWECO experimented with the first wave-driven linear electrical generators, rectifier designs, buoy shapes, construction materials, and 1982 wave tank tests of three working models. OWEC® operation and electrical output elucidated further design requirements that culminated in 1987 U.S. Patent 4,672,222 authored, drafted, and prosecuted by the inventor. With intent to power aids to navigation, full size linear-rotary generator trials were completed during 1989 US Coast Guard Small Business Innovation Research activity. Tests rendered power points for refining a technology engineering program that virtually describes all ranges of wave energy input, module sizes, and output. Since 2000, OWECO hosts international engineering interns working on computational fluid dynamic and structural analyses. Electrical control and power take-off are examined as related to large buoy dynamics. This work resulted in 2008 U.S. Patent 7,352,073 and 2014 U.S. Patent 8,810,056. Further experiment and sea trial data verify results and raise program accuracy. Then the program is a most important tool for scalable system modeling, module specifications, manufacturing standards, and process control. Ongoing review of other proposed conversion methods confirms that large point absorber buoys have most advantageous qualities within wave environments of wide energy bandwidth and diffuse nature.