Ocean Energy – Prospecting the waves for power

First it was companies poking around and looking for places to stake their claim on the possible use of [tag-tec]ocean waves[/tag-tec] to create energy. Now it is a whole county in CA that wants to lock up its shoreline and ocean territory for miles out to sea in order to protect its right to develop [tag]wave energy[/tag] technology.

Yes it seems that the technology must be coming to near term if it has come to this. The Sonoma County Water Agency (just north of SF) has plans this week to ask federal regulators for exclusive rights to study and develop wave-energy technology along the entire 41-mile county coastline, extending 12 miles out to sea, an expanse of about 490 square miles.

Now there are some interesting issues in this plan. Who has the final say over these ocean energies? What impact will it have on ocean ecology, can they even develop a technology capable of standing up to salt water, huge waves, and cold temps over many years?

“Most of the prospective areas for wave arrays are right in the middle of gray whale migratory pathways,” said Richard Charter, a representative of the nonprofit Defenders of Wildlife.

Will these wave energy technologies get in the way of commercial and public fisheries, damage fish habitat, prevent cleanup in the case of a spill and so on. These are the questions being asked.

But the tantalizing question is can it work and how much energy can it supply? Is it another version of wind power, capable of helping out as an energy source but not yet a big player? Or is it much bigger than that?

Some of the wave science
Wave power
DOE on wave power