The Undeveloped New Energy
Wave Power: The Alternative Energy Dark Horse
Wayne Duggan, December 6, 2016 (U.S. News & World Report via Yahoo)
“…[W]hile solar and wind energy seem to get the majority of the media headlines, an entire segment of the alternative energy sector is looking away from the sun and skies and focusing its attention on the power of the world's oceans…The world's first commercial wave power device wasn't completed until 2000. The Islay Limpet in Scotland is a 250 kW oscillating water column generator powered entirely on ocean waves. As waves from the ocean enter an on-shore chamber, the waves compress the air in the chamber. The compressed air is then forced through a ‘blowhole’ and turns a power-generating turbine…Ocean Power Technologies' latest PowerBuoy device, the PB3…consists of a float that sits on the surface of the ocean, a metal plate that rests about 100 feet below the surface, and a large, piston-containing hydraulic cylinder connecting the two. The motion of the waves pushes and pulls on the piston to generate power…It took wind energy technology decades to become competitive with fossil fuel generation…[and] wave energy is still in its infancy…The near-term focus for companies developing wave power technology will be improving efficiency…[W]ave energy costs need to be reduced by [an estimated] 50 percent from current levels before it becomes competitive…” click here for more
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