So you thought that water was just good for drinking and for fish to frolic in? Not so! For a number of years there has been an incredible amount of research and development into wave power / energy as a renewable energy resource for the globe. Here I pause [ ] and metaphorically take a sip of water *sip* before presenting the following:
Wave Energy as a Global Energy Resource
Wave energy is a renewable energy resource created by large storms hundreds of miles offshore that generate and transmit huge amounts of energy which travels great distances (via swell) and mixes with local influences (seas) to arrive at our shores.
It is a genuinely renewable energy source and distinct from tidal energy.
Wave energy is generally considered to be the most concentrated and least variable form of renewable energy. It is the high power density of wave energy that suggests it has the capacity to become the lowest cost renewable energy source.
Wave power is a relatively unknown solution as a clean energy source, yet its uninterrupted and continuous source of energy has the potential to be among the most enduring suppliers of the world’s future needs if some obstacles can be overcome. One major problem with most wave technology is that waves have too much energy. Britain has 35 out of the world’s nearly 130 wave energy and tidal stream device developers, which include Pelamis, Aquamarine Power and Marine Current Turbines.
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.
In 2011, consistent with other industry forecasts, the UK Carbon Trust estimated that the Global Marine Energy sector could be worth US$760 billion by 2050 and could support 68,000 jobs in the British Marine energy sector alone. Industry estimates put annual marine energy revenues at nearly US$100 billion by 2025. CETO is a portable technology and through Carnegie’s 100% ownership of the technology Carnegie has full access to this untapped global market.
Wave energy has significant global potential with the USA, North & South America, Western Europe, Japan, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand among some of the best wave energy sites around the world.
Wave energy flows in the direction of wave propagation and is measured as the amount of power (in kW) contained in each linear metre of wave front. Typically energy above 20kW/m may be suitable for CETO wave farm projects.
Incroyable, no? I think so. So incredible actually that I’ve been conducting experiments with our water cooler this morning. I’ve been simulating wave power by inserting the wires from my voltmeter into the bottle, then rocking the water bottle back and forth to create waves and to see whether they generate power. All was going swimmingly well (I thought) until the bottle came adrift, water sloshed about (only a bit) and someone ratted me out to the HOD, Mrs Furthingstoke. Seems as if I’ve been banished from the water cooler area until further notice. Apparently, somebody will bring my drinking water to me.
Never mind, as soon as I get home, it’s straight into the tub, where I’ll be building up a serious rate of knots (energy) by squooshing back and forth creating ginormous waves.
It’ll take more than Mrs Furthingstoke to deter me from reaching life changing scientific breakthroughs!
