Wave power is the capture of energy of wind waves to do useful work. For example, electricity generation, water desalin, or pumping water. Electricity generation is the first process in the delivery of electricity to consumers. Desalination is a process that extracts mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture. When pumping water, a machine called the Water Energy Converter (WEC) is used to move and change the water power into energy that major coastal cities like Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Miami.
The history of wave energy came before the need for alternative sources of energy, but the real development of the technology used to convert wave energy into usable electricity began only in the last decade. In 1799, the first patent for using ocean waves as an energy resource was filed by Girard and his sons from France. In 1910, a crude device that used ocean waves provided power to the house of Bocaux-Plastique at Royan in Bordeaux, France. Many researchers and inventors in the United Kingdom have been trying to harness the power of ocean waves, but unfortunately, there really wasn’t a concerted effort to develop this technology. It was only during the oil crisis in 1973 that researchers took a closer look into developing ocean and sea wave energy devices. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh, Norwegian Institute of Technology, US Naval Academy, Bristol University, University of Lancaster, and MIT joined forces and developed the Edinburgh Duck; a device that could harness the power of ocean waves and convert it into energy. The future of wave power seemed to be improving, but when the oil crisis was over in the 1980’s, the world turned its back again on developing wave power. It was only during the late 1900’s did interest in developing wave power renew. In 1991, the Islay Limpet, a 500 KW oscillating water column device was installed along a portion of the shoreline in Scotland. In 1994, Finland announced that they had installed the Waveroller. Energy was produced by installing a plate that was anchored at the sea bottom. Waves moved the upper portion of the plate back and forth and the kinetic energy was collected by a piston pump. In 1997, Ocean Power Technologies in the United States developed the Powerbuoy. The up and down movements of a wave caused hydraulic fluid within a buoy to spin a generator thereby
producing energy. More companies around the world started to develop different technologies to produce energy from ocean waves. Looking into the history of wave farms, we’ll see that these only began sprouting in the last decade. To date, only a handful of wave farms can be seen around the world. The first wave farm was in Portugal and was called the Agucadoura Wave Farm. The farm was commissioned in 2008 and produced 2.25 MW of energy. Unfortunately, it was shortlived as it was also decommissioned the same year. In 2009, Spain announced Mutriku Breakwater Wave Plant and it was capable of producing 0.3 MW of energy. The same year Israel commissioned SDE Sea Waves Power Plant that produced 0.04 MW. In 2011 two wave farms were commissioned in the United Kingdom. The Orkney Wave Power Station produced 2.4 MW and the Siadar Wave Power Station was capable of producing 4 MW of power. The world’s wave energy technology has much more room for improvement. Technologies to harness wave power have been around for centuries, but the lack of conviction to develop these technologies and turn them into a main resource for energy has prevented this happening at a much faster pace.
The clearest use for wave energy is the fact that it is the fastest and most reliable source of converted energy to be obtained from the environment. The first reason for using wave energy is because around the world, there is a decreasing shortage of electricity. Wave energy can be converted into almost anything, especially electricity. The world Council estimates that the energy that can be harvested from the world’s oceans is equal to twice the amount of electricity that the world produces now. Such amount of clean, cost-efficient energy will certainly assist the World’s green and economic development. Some examples of everyday use with wave energy is electricity, powering wind turbines, and making power plants efficient. This energy can be used to power a turbine and there are many areas in the world where wind blows with sufficient consistency to provide continues waves. There is tremendous energy in wave power which gives this energy source gigantic energy potential. Wave energy is captured directly from surface waves or from different pressure fluctuations between the surfaces. This energy can then be used to power a turbine and the simple and mostly used working principle of this procedure would be as follows: the wave raises into a chamber and then the rising water forces the air out of the chamber and the moving air spins a turbine which then turns a generator on.
The idea of Harnessing the power and energy of waves is not only a difficult job but a costly job. To power up to 30 homes is around 10 million dollars to run a wave turbine. To supply over 100 homes with wave energy power it would cost just over 80 million. This type of energy would only be obtainable in some parts of the country due to the large cost and access to the ocean. After the energy is contained it still needs to be converted for the use on people’s homes and everything and more. The economic impact of converting to using this type of energy would cost taxpayers even more than before. To produce a wave turbine and a power plant the cost would be in the millions. It cost 4 to 8.5 cents per kilowatt. However the ocean waves are a renewable source that is continuously producing waves. Also the ocean can be seen as a gigantic energy storehouse collector conveyed by the sun rays to the oceans, with the waves transporting the conveyed kinetic energy across the ocean substance. The building of the power plants would be very difficult in the beginning but once more and more of the power plants are built the cost to produce them will be cut in half and will bring in more money as the production brings more and more energy to homes all around the united states. The current of the waves would turn the water wheel providing the wheel to spin continuously and be converted into the much needed energy Ocean waves are also a clean and pollution free way to fuel the demanding need for electricity. By converting to this energy source would cost families and companies less because the waves are continues other then using coal or oil where the price goes up as the product recedes because of how much it is getting used.
The deployment and use of wave energy devices and schemes can also have an impact on the environment in terms of the local shipping and fishing industries as well as on the local environment. Some of the environmental impacts of wave energy may be beneficial while some others could be potentially harmful. Although little is known at the moment about the potential environmental impact from wave energy devices and other ocean based technologies due to the fact that many are still in their experimental or early stages of deployment and as such there is very little or no direct operational experience, many wave energy schemes are building on the lessons learned from more mature ocean based oil drilling platforms and offshore wind power industries. Because wave energy generation occurs on the ocean’s surface either shoreline, near-shore, or located far out at sea, the possible environmental effects of wave energy generation are similar in many ways to those of offshore wind power generation. Although none of these environmental issues are considered to be critical, the following list helps provides a generalised summary of the most common environmental impacts, both positive and negative, of wave energy devices. Coastal Erosion – Onshore and nearshore schemes may have an effect on coastal erosion due to alteration of currents and waves. Tidal velocities, wave amplitude and water flow may be altered in proportion to the scale of the array. Device Construction – Possible impact during installation from anchoring these devices. Many wave energy devices are secured or tethered to the ocean floor using pilings, concrete blocks, anchors and chains. Site preparation may involve dredging and scouring of the sea bed to install electrical cables. the amount of ocean bottom disturbance would depend on the number of devices installed and the mooring systems employed. Environmental – While wave energy produces no greenhouse gases or other atmospheric pollutants whilst generating electricity, emissions do arise from other stages of its construction, transportation and life cycle. Also potential impacts associated with the release and leakage of hydraulic fluids for hydraulic rams, power trains, lubricating oils and fluids, anti-corrosion and biofouling paints and coatings into the surrounding seas. Fishing Industry – Exclusion zones around offshore devices could impact on local fishing areas. Anchor lines, tethers and power cables restrict the use of nets while floating devices can create sheltered conditions providing benefits to some marine species and habitats by limiting access and fishing at the site. However, as with marine reserves, fishing activity may increase directly outside the boundary of the installation. Marine Ecosystem – Marine mammals may be vulnerable to the floating structures or they may act as barriers to marine movement and migration affecting the fauna and flora on the seabed. Most offshore wave energy devices are moored directly to the seafloor and mooring lines could pose a threat of entanglement for some animals, especially larger whales. Floating wave energy devices could entice sea birds to use the structures as temporary roosts. Navigational Hazards – Possible navigational hazards to shipping as their low profile could result in them being difficult to detect visually or by a ships radar. Potential impact on shipping if wave energy devices are not illuminated at night or if their moorings break away during storms. Also, water quality may be affected due to potential oil spills from increased boat traffic in the area for maintenance and repair. Noise Pollution – The constant noise from wave capture devices especially in rough conditions may have an impact on whales and dolphins that use echolocation to hunt. For shoreline and nearshore devices, the levels of operational noise may constitute a noise nuisance locally on the beach or shoreline. However, when fully operational any device generated noise will probably be masked by the natural noise coming from the wind and waves. Recreational Activities – Offshore and nearshore devices could have an effect on some forms of recreational swimming and of water sports around the floating devices. Sub-aqua diving and water skiing might benefit from the shelter provided by these devices but sailing and windsurfing may suffer. Also, visual impact of large scale installations on tourism as the water depth required by nearshore devices might only be a few hundred yards offshore. Sedimentary Flow – The placement of onshore and nearshore wave energy installations such as device platforms, anchors, and cables could change the flow of the water and sands immediately around the structures. Changes in water velocities will impact on sediment transport, coastal erosion, and the deposition of coarse sediments such as pebbles or rocks. Slower or restricted water currents will increase the depositing of sediment.
To conclude, energy from waves contain the largest amount of potential energy from a soon-to-be converted source. The positive results outway the few obstacles like funding and manpower to work on the Wave Energy Converters. The economic outcome of using wave energy in every city is tremendous, resulting in a boom of income for all countries including islands. The environmental aspect of wave energy does not have a negative nor a positive impact because the waves will constantly be created (unless something happens to our moon). There are many usefulnesses for converting wave energy into electricity, or powering specifically wind turbines. As converting it is expensive, the most eco-friendly and less time consuming process, wave energy is the best option of furthering types of renewing energy.