Interest in Wave Energy Increasing

Although we're still years away from getting a significant amount of clean, renewable energy from waves, a recent article Wave Power Could Reduce Dependency on Oil that appeared in U.S. News and World report is an indication that there is increasing interest in wave and tidal energy.

Specifics and success stories are still hard to find. The article mentions several competing technologies and projects in Europe, including the Pelamis project in Portugal that was apparently abandoned in 2009, Aquamarine Power's Oyster, which is currently being tested in the waters off Scotland, and Checkmate Seaenergy's Anaconda, which has yet to be tested in the real world.

Commercialization may be closer in the U.S. In California, PG & E is planning to test up to four different technologies with its Wave Connect project in Humboldt County and is evaluating the potential for tidal energy in San Francisco Bay.

But Reedsport, Oregon may be the site of of the first commercial wave energy project on the West Coast. Surfrider Foundation is an active stakeholder in this project, which would be developed by Ocean Power Technologies.