Wave energy in Hawaii
source: oceanpowertechnologies.com
With the help of the U.S. military, a company called Ocean Power Technologies is looking to exploit Hawaii’s massive wave energy potential as a renewable energy source.
Ocean Power Technologies’ wave powered energy producing design is a giant buoy that generates electricity by bobbing up and down in the ocean’s waves, working an internal plunger connected to a hydraulic pump.
Since so much of the world’s inhabitants live on its coastlines, wave energy presents a potentially convenient and dependable source of power that is in close proximity to many population centers. U.S. military bases plan to be among the first to take advantage of this. Ground zero for America’s foray into ocean power: The U.S. Marine Corps Base in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
A pair of CNN articles on wave power explore the potential for the development of this renewable resource.
The company envisions hundreds of buoys, more powerful than this one, all clustered together, producing huge quantities of energy and sending it back to shore. While it’s expensive now, many governments around the world are providing funding to ocean energy companies, including OPT, to help get the industry off the ground, drive innovation, and bring costs down. –CNN
Check out the first video installment of CNN’s new energy technology series entitled Earth’s Frontiers below. For more information on wave power see the CNN articles ‘Surf’s up for Hawaii’s hydro-power’ and ‘The new wave: Harnessing the power of the ocean’.
Harnessing Hawaii’s wave power
by Graham Land
Additional resources:
New Wave Ocean Power: The Tide is High
Graham Land grew up in Washington, D.C., where he was part of the local hardcore punk scene. Through this unique musical movement he became involved in grass roots anti-racist activism, animal rights and Ecology. Since 2000 Graham has lived in Europe, earning an MA in history from Malmö University in Sweden and working as a musician, English teacher, sports therapist, customer service agent and writer. Graham has a podcast with author Saci Lloyd and is currently pretending to work on his first novel.
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Tags: base, buoy, CNN, energy, Hawaii, Military, ocean, power, renewable, source, technologies, U.S., wave
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