Ocean Waves Energy Tapped For Clean Electricity

By Roland Piquepaille

The use of ocean waves energy is in its infancy today, but can lead to clean, affordable and renewable electrical power. Right now, it's probably 15 years behind wind energy, but it has a vast potential. For example, experts estimate that 0.2 percent of the ocean's untapped energy could power the entire world. And Oregon may lead future of wave energy with a project of the deployment of 200 buoys, each of them about 12 feet wide and 12 feet tall. These buoys, located off Reedsport, Oregon, could be installed for an estimated initial cost of $5 million and would produce 50 megawatts, enough to power the business district of downtown Portland. But Oregon is not the only state looking at wave energy technology. Other coastal states and several other countries are also searching to produce clean electricity from ocean waves. Read more...

Let's start with some quotes from the leading researchers about wave energy at Oregon State University (OSU).

"The world's oceans are an extremely promising source of clean energy," said Annette von Jouanne, an OSU professor of electrical engineering. "The technology is still in experimental stages, but we've made enough progress in the past couple years that it's time to start planning a working research and demonstration facility.
"The development of wave energy right now is probably 15-20 years behind wind energy, which is just now starting to achieve some optimal production technologies," said Alan Wallace, the co-principal investigator at OSU on these projects, and a professor of electrical engineering.
"And just like wind energy, these systems will be more expensive at first, and then the cost will come down and become very competitive," Wallace said. "But this is really groundbreaking research that can be of enormous value to society, and it's amazing all of the people who want to get involved."
Annette von Jouanne and Alan Wallace Here is a picture of Annette von Jouanne and Alan Wallace taken in 2003, as they were leading a first project to develop renewable sources of energy from the ocean (Credit: OSU June 2003 news release).

So what's the goal of the current OSU project?

The OSU engineers say that a buoy about 12 feet wide and 12 feet tall, rolling up and down in the ocean swells could produce 250 kilowatts per unit -- a modest-sized network of about 200 such buoys could power the business district of downtown Portland. And the winter, the period of highest wave energy electrical production, also coincides with peak electricity demands in the Pacific Northwest.
"One of the other extremely promising possibilities with wave energy is the ability to scale these systems either up or down in size, whatever you need to fit the electrical demand," von Jouanne said. "Small systems could even be used with individual boats at anchor to generate their own electricity."

But, as says the Oregonian (reference below), Oregon is not alone.

Several other nations are looking at wave energy technology, including Japan, Australia, China, Sweden, India, Portugal, Ireland and Norway. In addition to Oregon, other coastal states looking into wave power include Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Hawaii and California.
[And] AquaEnergy Group in Washington state has proposed a wave energy pilot plant that will use buoys about three miles off the Olympic Peninsula to generate electricity.

You'll find more information about this project by following these links:

Sources: David Stauth, Oregon State University news release, via EurekAlert!, February 2, 2005; and various other websites

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