Oregon Launches First Wave Energy Farm
Oregon has always been considered a fairly progressive state and it is proving the label is accurate once again by launching its first wave energy farm to produce power.
The energy in the oceans of the world is simply staggering. One needs only look at the tragedy in the tsunami in Southeast Asia to know as much. What if you could harness the energy in waves as a power source? The vast majority of humans live along the coast so it would make a huge difference in the current energy debate.
The idea of harnessing wave energy is neither new nor revolutionary. The real question is how do you do it? Moving salt water is incredibly corrosive and very difficult for machinery to hold up against in the long run. While it can work, the maintenance and repair costs make the effort hard to justify economically using current technology.
Oregon has launched a wave energy farm that takes a completely different approach. Instead of trying to capture the energy in waves, this system captures the energy created by the natural up and down motion when something sites on the top of the water. The device looks like a 150 foot raft. It contains a hydraulic system in it. As the raft floats on the water, a weight moves up and down and pumps the hydraulics. This small energy is then converted to usable energy.
Is this system the wave of the future to use a bad pun? Not in its current arrangement. The Oregon system will only power 400 homes at best. That being said, it does reflect a new approach to the problem of how to harness the energy. Whether it is ultimately the one that will make a difference is something we will have to see in the future.
