World wave energyWave power in kW per metre of wave crest in various parts of the world
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Wave projects around the worldhttp://www.ocean-energy-systems.org/ocean_energy_in_the_world/ |
Coastlines suitable for wave power projects |
Wave power installations. List compiled by OES - Ocean Energy Systems, a section of the IEA - International Energy Agency. Red areas are regions of high wave energy. Click on the map or link below for more detailed information. http://www.ocean-energy-systems.org/ocean_energy_in_the_world/gis_map/ |
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Waves have solar energyWaves are a form of solar energy. The sun heats parts of the Earth, causing hot air to rise, producing wind, in turn producing waves in water. The greater the wind speed and the fetch (length of water exposed to wind), the greater the wave energy. Yes, there is a huge amount of wave energy, but in reality only a tiny fraction could ever be harnessed. At present it costs about seven times as much as coal fired power. The challenge is to harness the energy without having the equipment destroyed by the excess energy of storms. There are hundreds of patents for harnessing wave energy, and many companies are trying their technologies. Power companies, governments, and investors, are trying to predict which technologies will be successful. UK is leading the pack with a feed-in-tariff of 50c/kWh. So it is worthwhile setting up in UK while the bugs are ironed out. It means that you'll get paid for the electricity you produce so that you can make a guaranteed return on your investment for up to 20 years There are several main ways of extracting power from ocean waves: |
Power in ocean waves: P = 0.57 * H2 * T
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