Waves are caused by the wind blowing over the surface of the ocean. In many areas of the world, the wind blows with enough consistency and force to provide continuous waves. There is tremendous energy in the ocean waves. Indeed, the total power of waves breaking on the world's coastlines is estimated at 2-3 million megawatts. The west coasts of the United States and Europe and the coasts of Japan and New Zealand are particularly good sites for harnessing wave energy.
One way to harness wave energy is to bend or focus the waves into a narrow channel, increasing their power and size. The waves can then be channelled into a catch basin, like tidal plants, or used directly to spin turbines While Research and Markets reports that there are currently no major commercial wave energy plants in operation, it does reveal that there are a few small ones. “Small, on-shore sites have the best potential for the immediate future, especially if they can also be used to protect beaches and harbours,” says the report authors. “They could produce enough energy to power local communities.” Japan, which must import almost all of its fuel, is one country with an active wave-energy programme.
The report on ocean energy focuses on the various forms of ocean energy available, such as tidal energy, wave energy, marine current energy, and of course, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). It looks at the technological developments, region-wide analysis of the various forms of ocean energy, project-wide analysis, cost analysis, providing a plethora of region-wide analyses of each form of ocean energy.
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