Once known the point absorbers technology, it is easy to see
that there are two kinds of generators that we can use for the
conversion of kinetic energy of the system into electrical energy:
a rotating generator, or a linear generator, which fits in a much
more natural way with the system's motion.
It's obvious that in first case we are facing a very mature
technology, and together with the use of complex mechanisms
consisting in pulleys, gears, gearboxes and flywheels, it allows
the conversion of linear motion into rotational motion and the
exploitation of wave power using commercial generators
currently available. Notwithstanding, they still require a specific
development to be able to overcome the disadvantages
associated with this technology.
Nonetheless, after hard investigation we have found very
interesting to open a new technological way for the exploitation
of this kind of energy using linear generators. These generators
allow us to exploit the energy of the sea waves using point
absorbers in a direct way without the need to use complex and
expensive mechanisms for doing the conversion from lineal
movement to rotational which, among other inconvenient, it
adds losses to the system and increases the technical complexity,
the necessity of maintenance and the final costs.
A system as shown in figure 2, incorporating a linear
generator and two floating bodies, one at the surface and the
other submerged, could be a simple and efficient system to
exploit the energy of waves.