Danish company Wavestar is working towards using the oceans power and is producing a machine to do it. It is hoped that the 1-megawatt machine is ready for use by 2017. It is necessary to stop relying on fossil fuels and replace them will clean energy. If it is renewable, then that is so much the better according to co-founder Niels Hansen.
There are 20 floaters that move along with the waves, and the machine will use them to power a generator and the intention is to have up to 6 megawatts coming from each machine, and this means they will power 4,000 houses each. Tidal power dates back to the middle ages when grain was ground by moon power, and an advantage with tidal power is its predictability. It is easy to tell when it will be it’s most useful, and it is also much stronger than the wind.
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As water is denser, the machine will adapt to the conditions and floaters will rise if the weather is too bad. Keld and Niels Hansen got their idea when sailing back in 2000 and purchased the rights to the machine in 2003. Testing started at Aalborg University in 2004 and according to Tidal Energy Today, larger machines are being tested.
The university has a number of other projects underway including Seawave Slot-cone Generator and Wave Dragon. All energy companies are hoping that it will be their machine that can be a commercialized wave energy machine.
Recent Developments of Wave Energy Utilization