Ocean wave currents, primarily driven by the wind are a great source of power, largely untapped that can generate electricity, pump water and desalinate water. Desalinating water is the process of removing minerals; including salt from ocean water to make it fit for human consumption as well as to irrigate plants.

Tidal or current power, it is rarely used in our current world, despite being discovered as early as 1799. It offers reusable and clean energy making it a big surprise why it has not been well utilized. Only Portugal and Australia has active ocean wave power plants in the world. The two countries are role models and experts in this little known, under-utilized, and abundant form of power.

How ocean wave power plants operate

With ocean wave energy being actively in use for just about a year, research is still ongoing on many fronts to be able to capture the full potential of this energy. In Australia, the power generated from this energy has successfully been incorporated into her original grid, making it a first worldwide.

These countries use CETO technology named after a Greek goddess who ruled the sea, making the name quite appropriate. The kinetic energy of ocean waves is captured underwater and converted into electrical energy. The CETO 5 and 6, come with 240Kw and 1000Kw power capabilities respectively. So far the Australian plant has operated for 14,000 hours non-stop, and it currently holds the record.

The power transmitters placed on the floor of the ocean, do not emit any harmful gasses, pose no threat to marine life, and also do not disturb activities on the ocean surface.

The electrical energy from ocean wave power plants also helps to purify sea water. Getting rid of the waters’ salinity enables it to be drinkable and used for other purposes. The same energy is used to pump the now purified water to its destination, giving more reasons to use this environmentally friendly and zero-emission energy.

The Future of ocean wave energy

Things can only get brighter for this form of energy. Producing as long as an ocean is readily available is easy. Ocean wave energy can produce around ten times the amount of regular power sources that are currently in use, making it more economically viable and sustainable as ocean waves never run out.

“As humans we are very good at optimizing something once we know what to optimize, and with wave energy, we don’t know what that is yet,” said the US energy department in a statement. “We all know the best ways to make power from wind energy for instance. It is a blade attached to a generator placed on a tower.”

Alternatives

Another use that has not been fully utilized is that the water pumped from the plants can create reservoirs which can boost water security for future use. The water pumped into the tanks can also be piped for domestic and agricultural purposes.

Other areas with an enormous potential to harness this technology includes the northern coast of the UK, coastlines of North and South America, Southern Africa and the western seaboards of Europe.

In a world where energy sources are dwindling with every passing year, other available sources of energy such as ocean wave energy should be encouraged. With the threats of global warming and newly emerging threats to the world’s natural resources, more and less harmful options of power should be embraced. This will ensure that the world never falls into darkness.