The next wave in electric power generation, say David Langston and his team at the UK-based Wavegen (www.wavegen.co.uk), is harnessing the force of crashing waves. "About 50 percent of the world population lives within 60 kilometers of the ocean," says Langston. "These large bodies of water are very, very concentrated forms of energy."
In November, Wavegen - in collaboration with Queen's University of Belfast - began operating the world's first commercial-scale wave-driven power generator, the Land Installed Marine Powered Energy Transformer, or Limpet 500. Built into the side of a cliff on Islay, a small island off the western coast of Scotland, the Limpet's partially submerged chamber collects and releases ocean water. The incoming tide displaces air in the chamber, forcing it into a pair of counterrotating turbines, which drive twin 250-kilowatt generators and produce electricity. As the water ebbs, air once again fills the chamber.
The Limpet, designed to last 60 years, can deliver 500 kilowatts of power, enough for about 300 homes with average energy usage. If the project succeeds, Wavegen hopes to build offshore stations with larger capacities to feed the planet's ever-increasing appetite for energy.
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