Current offshore aquaculture systems rely on diesel generators to supply the bulk of the power necessary for feed barges, pumps, monitoring sensors, communications, and aeration systems. These generators are detrimental to the ocean environment and local marine life due to noise pollution, carbon emissions, and potential for fuel spills. Fuel, generator leasing, and maintenance also represent a significant portion of the operating costs of offshore farms. Restrictions on unattended generators have also presented complications for permitting efforts within U.S. waters.
Offshore aquaculture stakeholders have begun preliminary investigations into the use of marine renewable energy but have not identified the optimal solution. Recent advancements in aquaculture technology, specifically floating and submersible fish pens, have allowed these systems to be placed in deeper water with more potential wave action, leading to an opportunity for co-deployment with ocean renewable energy.
To address these needs, Triton Systems, Inc. (TSI) is developing a Wave Energy Converter (WEC) to provide supplemental power to offshore aquaculture systems. The TSI WEC (Figure 1) is a self-contained floating buoy that interfaces with aquaculture farm components through a proprietary compliant tether to transmit power and data between systems. This structural tether allows the WEC to leverage the farm’s existing mooring system, removing the need for an independent anchoring system and simplifying or eliminating the need for additional permits.
Triton and its partners are currently conducting outreach with stakeholders within the global and domestic US aquaculture markets to understand the energy requirements of typical offshore aquauculture installations. The results from this outreach will be used to develop an intitial WEC system design, which will then be evaluted through stakeholder review, laboratory testing, and open-water deployments in relevant environments.