The alternative energy industry is quickly growing. As the costs of oil climbs, governments look to renewable resources to power homes, businesses, and vehicles. Not one to shy away from showing off its ever-present power, the ocean is now among one of the many resources being tapped for alternative energy.
Recently, the Air Force Academy constructed and tested a 1:300 scale wave tank and converter (capable of converting ocean wave power into electrical power). Ultimately, researchers were able to obtain 99% efficiency from the converter. The principal researcher, Stefan Siegel, believes a full sized unit will work in a real world setting. The academy will conduct a 1:10 scale test at Texas A&M’s wave tank facility, one of the largest in the world.
Simultaneously, Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) is working with the Navy to produce PowerBuoys that use a hydraulic pump (activated by the bobbing of the buoy in the wave) to power a generator linked to the power grid. The buoy is capable of producing enough energy to provide electricity to 25 homes. Proponents for wave energy tout the constant power production of the ocean, unlike the unpredictable wind and the ever setting sun.
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/international/2010/02/25/earth.frontiers.hawaii.wave.bk.a.cnn
http://blogs.forbes.com/williampentland/2011/02/27/air-force-perfects-ocean-power/
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