![]() Oscillating water column – A concrete structure is constructed with an enclosed chamber and an opening below sea level. The electricity is carried to shore via a cable under the sea. The undulation of the waves creates a flexing motion at the joints connected to hydraulic pumps that drive a generator, producing electricity. Surface attenuator – This device has multiple arms that float on the surface. The electricity is pumped to a collection device that moves the electricity to the grid onshore. As the buoy bobs up and down with the waves, it moves a generator in the shaft that connects the buoy to the base, creating electricity. Point absorber buoy – A floating buoy is anchored to a stabilizing base on the seafloor. Ocean thermal energy, osmotic energy, marine currents and some types of wave energy could produce base load power, electricity that is consistent and reliable. The International Energy Agency estimates that wave power could potentially produce 8,000 to 80,000 TWh yearly ocean thermal energy could produce 10,000 TWh osmotic power (from salinity differences) could produce 2,000 TWh and tides and marine currents could produce 1,100 TWh. consumes each year.Įnergy is inherent in the movement of ocean waves, in the difference in temperature between warm surface waters and cooler deep waters, in the disparity in salinity between fresh water and salt, and in marine currents and tides. But since shipping, fishing, naval operations or environmental concerns take precedence in certain areas, the amount of power that is “recoverable” is estimated at 1,170 TWh a year, almost a third of the amount of electricity the U.S. coastline alone could generate 2,640 TWh each year. The Electric Power Research Institute estimates that the waves breaking along the U.S. That is more than the world’s current energy consumption of almost 20,000 TWh The constant pounding of the waves and the ebb and flow of tidal currents, as well as other properties of the ocean, if harnessed, could produce 20,000 to 80,000 terawatt hours of electricity, according to the International Energy Agency. Humans have been trying to harness ocean energy for centuries, beginning with a French engineer named Pierre-Simon Girard in 1799. Could this energy help replace fossil fuels and be a solution to climate change? The oceans of the world are a vast unexploited source of clean, reliable and predictable renewable energy.
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