Wave Power Switched On
Another step in a Sisyphean effort to extract useful energy from the ocean.
Kevin Bullis 12/01/2009
- 5 Comments
The First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, recently switched on a machine for converting wave energy into electricity. The machine, called the Oyster, is simple: it's a hinged contraption with one end that rises and falls with the waves, an action that pumps water to an onshore hydro-electric turbine. There are no electronics or generators in the water, which should make it easier to maintain.
Yet, we've got a long way to go before wave power makes any sort of dent in our need for fossil fuels. At two megawatts of power per Oyster, it would take about 400 of them to replace a coal plant, assuming the wave power is as reliable as a coal plant--that's yet to be proven.
Another recent wave project didn't fair too well. The snake-like Pelamis system was installed off of Portugal last year, only to be discontinued after economic and technical difficulties (the latter of which the company says have been addressed).
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zaczek@prodigy.net
3 Comments
Information is the important Energy
I have articles from 100 years ago about attempts to harness wave and tidal power. The real energy at this point in time is the global data that has been gathered over the past century. When Edison was asked if he often failed at invention his answer was coy. Yes ALL those failures were a roadmap to success in the long run.
I would love to get my hands on the raw data for wave and tide energy and have a fresh set of students take a look at the possibilities. It is no secrete that many inventions are accidents of application and not totally new technologies. This may upset the capitalism of commerce but the free flow of ideas is what science sails on. Let the manufacturers make the money once the prototypes prove out.
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