Message #621 From:
TheMachine Date: June 12, 2008 07:59:39 AM
Wave Power Rises Again?
The most recent issue of the Economist takes a brief but interesting
look at the resurgence of wave power development in recent years (see The Coming Wave,
June 5th). As the article says, wave power is still in its infancy.
However, the magazine is able to identify a number of companies that
are on the cusp of deploying commercial systems. Going a step
further, U.K's Pelamis Wave Power Ltd.,
already has a commercial multi-unit wave farm in place off the coast of
Portugal, although, the company's website describes it as being in the
commissioning phase.
While the Economist identifies five companies currently pursuing
commercial development of wave power, only two are publicly listed,
including:
In
December 2007, this Vancouver based company signed an agreement with
Pacific Gas & Electric to begin installing its Aquabouy generators
in a wave farm off the California coast by 2012.
The company has been conducting ocean trials off the coast of New Jersey since 1997 and is in a joint venture with Iberdrola SA to establish a 1.39 MW wave farm off the northern coast of Spain.
The
companies that are profiled appear to be taking a variety of approaches
to developing commercially viable technologies. (Wikipedia gives a
good overview of the science behind wave power.)
As the article points out, the ideas for wave power have been around
for decades but the public policy support and economic environment has
been lacking. However ....
"But at
last there are signs of change. Big utilities are taking the technology
seriously, and are teaming up with wave-energy companies.
Venture-capitalists are piling in too, as they look for new
opportunities. Several wave-energy companies are thought to be planning
stockmarket flotations in the coming months."
