Türkiye to step in wave energy with largest ever plant off Black Sea

Türkiye’s first and world’s largest wave energy power station will be installed in the country’s northern Black Sea region by Israel’s Eco Wave Power (EWP) as Türkiye is ‘an interesting location with ambitious sustainability goals.’

Türkiye’s first grid-connected wave energy power station with 77 megawatts capacity will be installed with an investment of $150 million in country’s northern Black Sea city of Ordu.

EWP will partner with Turkish company OREN Ordu Enerji, a fully owned subsidiary of Ordu Metropolitan Municipality, to implement the cutting-edge and cost-effective technology which produces clean electricity from sea waves.

‘Türkiye is an interesting location to further implement and develop our innovative wave energy technology,’ Inna Braverman, Founder and CEO of EWP, told Anadolu Agency.

Pointing to Türkiye’s regional proximity to EWP’s headquarters in Israel, Braverman said the company ‘is looking forward to developing other wave energy projects in the country, in the future.’

The project will be developed in stages, beginning with a pilot station having a maximum output of 4 megawatts.

The construction, operation, and maintenance of the plant’s remaining capacity of up to 73 megawatts will start depending on a number of factors, such as achieving positive outcomes from feasibility studies and receiving the necessary licenses and permits.

Braverman noted that once the required studies as well as the licensing and regulatory process in Türkiye are finalized, the roadmap would become more clearer.

‘To the best of our knowledge, it would be Türkiye’s first grid-connected wave energy power station, and upon completion, would be the world’s largest wave energy power station,’ she added.

– Cost-effective plant to use smart automation system

The onshore and nearshore technology generates clean and affordable electricity using floaters which are attached to existing marine structures such as breakwaters, piers, and jetties.

The movement of the floaters presses hydraulic pistons which transmit biodegradable fluid into land-located accumulators. The pressure built inside the accumulators rotates a hydraulic motor and a generator sending clean electricity to the grid via an inverter.

‘The entire operation of the system is controlled and monitored by a smart automation system,’ Braverman said, adding that the system is equipped with a patented storm protection mechanism.

‘When the waves are too high for the system to handle, the floaters automatically rise above the water level, and stay in the upward position until the storm passes. When the storm passes, the floaters go back into the water and commence operation,’ she explained.

As part of the agreement which was inked on Dec. 8, OREN Ordu Enerji will assign nine potentially suitable breakwaters to Eco Wave Power for a period of 25 years from activation of the relevant pilot or power station, while Eco Wave Power will be responsible for constructing, and commissioning the power plants and selling the electricity to be generated by the power plant in accordance with an approved production quota to be determined for the site.

• Eco Wave Power (EWP)