Long Period Swell Waves, Found All Over The World, Lift Up The Flat Bottom Super
Watt Wave Catcher Barges© And Their Mooring Legs Turn The Generators.
Normal Swell Wave Operation:
Swell waves impose high vertical force on the bottom of the barge that lifts the barge up. Mooring belts
turn unidirectional pulleys, like those used in lawnmower starter ropes, as the barge is lifted. The
unidirectional pulleys then turn flywheels and generators. The flywheels keep turning the generators
between wave crests. Recoil springs rewind the mooring belts back on the unidirectional pulleys and
maintain mooring belt tension. The torque applied to the flywheels and the generators increases mooring
belt tension and limits barge motion.
100 year storm survival options:
The following are a few of the many options for limiting mooring leg tensions during 100 year storm
events:
Passive Options:
1. Use of clump weights at the bottom of near vertical mooring legs that stay on the seabed during
normal waves but lift off the seabed during storm loading.
2. Use of line load limiters, like those used on fishing reels.
3. Recoil spring step stiffness increases with unidirectional pulley angle increases.
Active Options:
1. De-ballast and lock the sea anchor to bottom of barge.
2. Disengage the flywheel and generation reducing mooring leg tension.
3. Increase tension in the horizontal mooring system to serve more as a taunt leg system.
The Wave Catcher Barge is US Patent Number 8823196 - Apparatus of Wave Generators and a
Mooring System to Generate Electricity and is in Patent Pending in Taiwan, China, Korea, and
Japan. The Marine Energy Corporation also holds other major patents in Marine Current Power
generation which are all illustrated on the www.marineenergycorp.com website. As with the
Wave Catcher Barge patent, the Marine Current Power generation patents use proven existing
generators for maximum reliability and low CAPEX and low OPEX.
Marine Energy Corporation, 1302 Waugh Drive, PMB #465, Houston, Texas 77019 USA
Phone: +1-832-654-4003 – USA, www.marineenergycorp.com, [email protected]
Super Watt Wave Catcher Barges© Provide Significant Wave
Power At Similar Costs to Onshore Wind Power
Maintenance crew access
by helicopter or crew boat
and work in dry enclosure
Flywheels store momentum and keep the generators turning
Equipment in watertight
enclosure
Four large direct
drive wind turbine
generators
Articulated pulleys in
each corner wet rooms
Four Uni-Direction Pulleys
With Recoil Springs Keep
Mooring Lines In Tension
Large flat bottom barges provide the
lowest cost horizontal surface area for
swell waves to react against
Steel wire rope reinforced rubber mooring
belts turn generators onboard
Barges provide the lowest cost horizontal surface area for swell waves to react against. Light barges ride the
crest of swell waves unless held down by a vertical mooring system. A large wave catcher barge, which
measures 53.5 meter by 37.5 meters, can support a load of 2156 metric tonnes per meter of draft. Vertical
mooring legs resist the vertical movement of these barges and transfer very large mooring forces to the
generators.
Wave Catcher Barges can be installed almost anywhere in the world, in almost any water depth. Long period
swell waves, found all over the world, lift up the flat bottom barges and their vertical mooring legs turn their
generators. Each barge is sized for the local environmental conditions with outputs as high as four of the
world’s largest wind turbine generators. These barges can export AC or DC power at ultra high voltage for
long distances through draped marine power cables to surrounding barges or to a floating, fixed or subsea
hub for transmission to end users. Approximately 100 Wave Catcher Barges, under optimum conditions,
should be able to produce the equivalent power of a major power plant.
The barges can be towed to location and connected to their pre-installed mooring system and a power cable
in less than a day. Personnel can access the barges for normal safe dry enclosure maintenance by helicopter
or crew boat. The barges’ low profile makes them difficult to see from shore causing minimum or no visual
pollution. The barges cause no harm to the marine life, can survive the largest storms, use proven
components and can be disconnected for major onshore refurbishment in a day.
The weathervaning turret moored ultra depth water Super Watt Wave Catcher Barge farm below shows
shared anchors, shared export power cables and staggered layout with minimum shadowing. Maximum
power generation is possible with Wave Catcher Barges.
Super Watt Wave Catcher Barge© Components
Unidirectional Pulleys
Flywheels
Super Watt Wave Catcher Barge© Fixed Mooring Systems Below
Articulated Pulleys
Fixed Heading Moorings
Horizontally Moored Sea Anchor
Direct Drive
Generators
Dry Enclosure
Dry Enclosure
Barge Hull
Buoyant
Submerged
Frame
Dry Enclosure Houses Transformers,
Control Rooms, Switch Gear, Etc.
Corner Wet Rooms
Sloped Large Diameter Pipe
With Multiple Seals Keeps
Enclosure Dry
Steel
Reinforced
Rubber Belts
Taunt
Mooring
Legs
Belt Drying Pipe
Taunt Moored Submerged Frame
Articulated Pulley
Rotates On Large
Diameter Pipe
Belt Passes Through The Center
of the Large Diameter Pipe
Which Is The Center of Rotation
Moored Directly To Seabed
Polyester Horizontal Mooring Rope
Steel Reinforced Rubber Belts
Super Watt Wave
Catcher Barge
Spring
Buoys
Polyester Vertical Mooring Rope
Anchor
Piles
Corner Wet Rooms
At Each Corner
Unidirectional Pulleys
With Recoil Springs
Steel Reinforced Rubber
Belt Mooring Legs
12 meter OD
Flywheels
Direct Drive Generators
Clump Weights
Moored Vertically To Clump Weights & Piles and Horizontally to Spring Buoys
Super Watt Wave Catcher Barge© Weathervaning Mooring Systems Below
Articulated Pulleys
Many Closure
Options Are
Two redundant steel rope reinforced
Available
Corner Wet Room
rubber mooring belts per corner
Mooring Belts Go Over Cantilevered Pulleys Housed In Wet Rooms
Turret Moored Sea Anchor
Spring Buoy Single Point Mooring