The Negatives of Wave Energy

Wave energy is a clean, renewable power platform, but there are some drawbacks. In this article, we take a quick look at some of the negatives of wave energy.

Isn’t modern technology great? Think about it. You would not be reading this article 30 years ago. Why? Not only was there no article, there wasn’t even an internet. Heck, the idea of a personal computer was just someone’s laughable idea at the time. My, how the world has changed. Now technology runs everything from our cars to…well, our lives. For that technology to work, we need energy and there we find our wink link. Our traditional fossil fuel energy supplies are under threat. Wave energy is one of a host of alternatives being looked at, but it comes with some definite negatives.

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The first negative of wave energy is fairly simple – it is in its infancy. There are currently no working wave energy projects in the world. The technology needed has not developed as of yet and research is proceeding at a snail’s pace. The United States Department of Energy spent $10 million developing wave energy in 2008. The budget is $50 million for 2010. That may sound like a lot, but it is a drop in the bucket.

The second negative of wave energy has to do with the ocean. Salt water is corrosive. Moving salt water is incredibly corrosive. Given this, there is no universally accepted design for a wave energy device. The systems tried out take a beating in the salt water and need repairs often. This makes the energy platform a very expensive one. The hope is new design and new materials can overcome this hump, but it will be a huge hurdle until that happens.

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The third negative is an interesting one. Wave energy machines are necessarily going to be put in areas where they will impact local fish habitats. Similar problems are popping up with many renewables and pitting environmentalist against environmentalist. Somewhere there are oil executives laughing till they cry. Still, it is a viable problem. There appears to be no practical answer, so one can expect some heated arguments in the future over when wave energy should be allowed and when it should not.

The negatives of wave energy can be daunting at first glance. That being said, it is clear that many of the problems will be cured with the passage of time. If things proceed as expected, then we will use the power of waves for more than just surfing one day.

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