|
Waves have the highest energy density of any renewable
resource. The most comprehensive and current list of wave energy
technology developers is
here. The Minerals Management Service has a good page about
wave
energy basics and potential regulation. The
Electric Power Research
Institute's Ocean Energy project has the best detailed information about
wave energy and how and where it can be harvested. The
BWEA has nice
animations of devices. The
European Marine Energy Centre is testing wave energy converters. PESWIKI has a great page of
links to most wave energy developers. The State of Oregon has declared its intention to
be the national leader in
wave energy development.
  
  
Click the lower right picture to see large picture of the
Pelamis wave energy
converter. This is perhaps the most advanced device for long period waves
such as those in the North Pacific ocean. The Finavera Ltd. company has a
nice movie
of their wave energy project proposed in Oregon. There are many different
wave energy converters and no clear leader in technology. The power
density from wave energy farms appears to be about 2 MW/km2. We
expect wave technology to stabilize and become a reliable power source in about
ten years, by 2020.
A major cost of wave energy projects will be underwater cables
for power transmission. But this problem can be reduced by attaching the
wave energy converters to power cables from offshore wind turbines that are
already in place. The high energy output of the wind turbines makes the
cables economical. They can be designed with "taps" for cables to wave
devices when they become available and reliable. This will reduce the cost
of wave energy at a wind site by as much as 50% depending on the technologies.
|
