45 Ton Buoy Might Change the Way You Get Your Power (Wave Power)!

[SeaBreeze]

This is happening in Hawaii, full story here.

For the first time ever, some Americans are turning on the lights with energy from the ocean’s waves.A pilot project in Hawaii is now grid-connected at a naval test site off the island of Oahu. The device, known as Azura, is being tested by the University of Hawaii.

“As the first grid connected wave energy device in the U.S. that will be tested and validated by an independent party, this deployment marks a major milestone for our team and the marine renewable energy industry,” Northwest Energy Innovations founder and CEO Steve Kopf said in a statement.

The 45-ton Azura absorbs wave energy — from both up-and-down and side-to-side motion — and converts it to electricity. It is the first design of its kind — other projects haven’t incorporated this 360-degree motion, according to the company.

 

[Laurie]

Scotland has a fully funded wave power research project as we have 10& of the world's total tidal power.

http://www.hi-energy.org.uk/Renewables/Wave-Energy.htm

Initial results were good but now seem to have stalled somewhat, I think probably because of lack of further investment rather than lack of potential.

I suspect that in the early stages it will always be restricted, in a commercial sense , to small islands and coastal communities.