‘Artificial Blowhole' Makes Renewable Energy After 1-Year

Another renewable energy source has been tested by running for a year, and the findings have so far been positive. The "Artificial Blowhole" in Australia was able to produce power using the waves.

UniWave 200 to Harvest Renewable Energy from the Ocean Through Waves

Although the sun or the wind is the primary renewable energy sources, a different experiment has demonstrated that water may also be used to produce it. According to a CNet report, waves from an artificial blowhole were used to create power.

Wave Swell Energy, the organization that conducted the experiment, hopes to use its enormous UniWave 200 device to capture renewable energy from the ocean.

According to reports, the construction consists of a sizable concrete base with a hollow core chamber and an entrance for waves. The air is then forced through the turbine while the water begins to rise and fall inside the chamber.

Here, energy is produced when the air is forced past the turbine and spins. According to reports, the chamber is a man-made recreation of a blowhole, a phenomenon where rising waves compress air within a cave.

SURFING-RSA-DUNGEONS-BIG-WAVES — Fabian Campagnolo catches a wave at Dungeons, a famous surfing spot, close to Hout Bay, in Cape Town, on July 26, 2019. - This spot, which produces some of South Africa's biggest waves, needs a variety of conditions like wind, swell size, wave period and direction, that often follows storms, to produce huge waves on an offshore reef, which attracts and challenges the surfers. RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images

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Blowholes happen when waves rise and compress air, which causes bursts of saltwater to be sent outward. The gadget has successfully finished its one-year test on Australia's King Island.

The efficiency and availability of the system were two of the primary criteria assessed by the Wave Swell Energy team during the project. How much wave energy was transformed into electrical energy was a factor in efficiency.

How the Uniwave 200 Did in Comparison to Wind Turbines and Solar Panels

The percentage of time that energy was being transformed into electricity by the UniWave 200 served as the basis for measuring availability. The UniWave 200 was able to reach a rough 50% efficiency and 80% availability throughout the testing period, according to Paul Geason, CEO of Wave Swell Energy.

According to the Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan, solar panels only work at around 15 to 20 percent efficiency while wind turbines only operate at about 50 percent efficiency.

Additionally, it was said that solar panels attain a 92 to 96 percent availability whereas onshore wind turbines reach 95 to 97 percent availability. To make the technology more accessible and dependable, according to Geason, the UniWave 200's numbers must be enhanced.

They aim to make the UniWave200 better in order for the technology to be made available elsewhere as well. The company's official website, WaveSwell, has more information on the enormous device.