Ever sit by the ocean, and watch a buoy or a seagull bob up and down without end? The energy it takes to move all that water up and down is massive. Prevailing winds, temperature differentials, strong weather and even the rotation of the Earth all contribute to the never-ending crash of waves against the shore, and viewed from a certain perspective, that's a lot of energy going to waste:

The World Energy Council has estimated that approximately 2 terawatts (2 million megawatts), about double current world electricity production, could be produced from the oceans via wave power. It is estimated that 1 million gigawatt hours of wave energy hits Australian shores annually and that 25% of the UK’s current power usage could be supplied by harvesting its wave resource.

The image above shows average yearly wave-power energy in various parts of the world in kilowatts per METER!

The same ocean currents that fueled the economic growth of the 18th and 19th centuries may now help power the countries that prospered as a result - with the best sites in the world lying off the shores of developed countries, look for this alternative energy to (I can't help myself) make some waves in the coming years. Scotland, Portugal, Australia and Hawaii already have installations underway or in place, and feasibility studies are being undertaken by Spain, Norway, USA and New Zealand.

via Ceto.com

Comments (8)

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written by Jack , June 14, 2007

Wave power has been explored since the 70s. Potentially beneficial, not particularly cost effective at the moment. That could change.

We should pay attention to possible side effects of massive adoption of such technologies, such as possible effects on local marine ecosystems.

Is it waves or tides?
written by Hun Boon , June 15, 2007

I think there's a fundamental difference between them. It should be tide power that the article is discussing.

Ecological efffect
written by Andrew Pritchard , June 15, 2007

Irrespective of whether it's wave or tidal power, we must carefully consider what effect this will have on the marine life around such installations. We never thought about the effect of using oil, coal and other resources before using them blindly. We're only now getting information about the effect wind farms have of the bird population. Are we going to wait until the world is relying on this technology before studying it's effects - yet again?

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written by Jack , June 15, 2007

I tend to think that we need to used a mixed energy strategy...to avoid binding ourself to one strategy and to minimize impacts. Wind power may effect birds, but pollution from coal may effect them more. I'm not sure the same is true for marine life. But stealing away wave or tide energy can impact marine life, especially if they depend on these forces for locomotion, or reproduction and dispersal. Moderation is probably key. And also study. Take wind farms as an example. If you know that an area is an important one for birds (especially migratory birds), don't build there!

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written by Mike , June 16, 2007

Wave power has been in use for a while. I saw a show on Discovery about a plant that simply uses a large bladder that is compressed as wave crash on to rocky cliffs and the low pressure air spins a turbine. Another design uses the rising and falling motion of the waves to wind a large spring used to spin a generator. Neither of these designs would have any detrimental effect on sea life.

why not tides?
written by bill , June 16, 2007

If waves are being considered, why not tides? i mean, our tides are in the neighbourhood of +/-16feet. Every day, regardless of wind etc.

In-Stream Turbines Wave Of The Future?
written by Carolyn , June 17, 2007

I have been doing a great deal of research into this, and I'm convinced that in-stream turbines are the way to go for future power. But I do not think that they are the ONLY way to go. I see a future where solar, wind, tidal and in-stream power generation can gradually take away our dependence on fossile fuels. There are already in-stream and tidal turbines in use, producing power and serving a handful of Canada's communities. As for marine impact, in-stream turbines with smaller blades are far less detremental to marine life. When the blades only rotate between 20-30 RPM's the loss of fish are almost nil since the fish can swim through or around the blades.

I assume you all realize...
written by Greg , December 12, 2007

that the well thought out wave power ideas do not have the water run through a turbine. that it involves an anchor and a bouy type of setup. this way it has minimal detrimental impact on surrounding sea life. Though proper study should be done to minimize the impact, I DO think that the environmental impact caused by coal fired electrical plants are a much worse option than wave power.

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