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Environmental Business Review | Friday, April 01, 2022
Success in the technology to reap energy from waves and tides has been observed, although the costs for applying it must come down.
FREMONT, CA: Energy possessed in oceans is both renewable and predictable, which is attractive considering the issues faced by wind and solar power fluctuations. However, if marine energy harvesting technologies become famous, they will require a push. Water is 800 times denser than air, so it transports much energy when moving. As per the US Energy Information Administration, waves off the shores of the United States have a theoretical energy potential comparable to two-thirds of the country's electricity generation in 2020. Moreover, tides are predictable for decades, whereas waves are persistent, storing wind energy and arriving days after the winds have stopped.
The cost of marine energy is a major problem. It is often more costly than wind or solar energy to build reliable equipment that can withstand the highly combative ocean environment generated by seawater and large storms. Only with the support of the government will this shift happen. In the mid-2000s, capturing marine energy was a famous topic in Britain, with companies like Rolls Royce, General Electric, and Siemens becoming involved. Technology was progressing, but funding from the government was cut short. While the big players finally abandoned their objectives, numerous small businesses persevered, frequently with the assistance of European Union funds.
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Many marine energy machines have already been demonstrated at the European Marine Energy Centre in Scotland and the Wave Energy Test Site in Hawaii. Neil Kermode, CEO of EMEC, citing technical aspects including subsea experience and new digital-control technologies, stated that at this point, all of the components are in place and have got this working. As Brian Polagye, an engineering professor and head of the Pacific Marine Energy Center, certain small ocean-energy machines are already cost-competitive in places where power is expensive or difficult to obtain, like remote communities and offshore installations. The environmental impact of marine energy machines—noise, behavioral effects, or possible collisions—hasn't been considered so far, but greater deployments would postulate more research and design changes.
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