Storage Minimization of Marine Energy Grids Using Polyphase Power

Abstract

Multiple wave energy converter (WEC) buoys can be used to establish a WEC array-powered microgrid collectively forming a Marine Energy Grid (MEG). An oceanic domain with gravity waves will have significant spatial variability in phase, causing the power produced by a WEC array to have high peak-to-average ratios. Minimizing these power fluctuations reduces the demand for large energy storage by WEC array-powered DC microgrids while also reducing losses in the undersea cable to the shore. Designs that reduce energy storage requirements are desirable to reduce deployment and maintenance costs. This work demonstrates that polyphase power in conjunction with an energy storage system can be used to maintain constant power. This work shows that an N WEC array geometry can be designed to reduce the energy storage requirements needed to mitigate the power fluctuations if the WEC array produces constant, polyphase power. Additionally, the conditions that identify the wave frequencies and control the effort needed to produce polyphase power are developed. This paper also shows that increasing the number of WECs in an array reduces aggregate power fluctuations. Finally, WEC array power profiles are investigated using simulation results to verify the mathematical conditions developed for the three and six WEC cases.