An energy company called Ocean Energy USA has deployed the first ever commercial-scale wave energy device off the coast of Hawaii.
The device, called the OE Buoy OB-35, is 126 feet long and can generate up to 1.25 megawatts of electricity by capturing the motion of ocean waves.
It works by using waves pushing water into a duct to increase air pressure and power a turbine. When waves recede it creates a vacuum drawing air through the turbine.
This allows it to generate electricity continuously from wave activity.
It is moored at a Navy test site in Hawaii and will provide renewable energy to the electric grid once testing is complete.
Wave energy has potential to help power remote coastal communities and islands sustainably.
Deploying this device is a major step towards commercializing ocean wave energy technology, which could play a role in transitioning grids to renewable sources.
The company aims to build more of these buoys to test at a site in Oregon and sees them operating commercially for 30-50 years as power generation assets.
Source: TCD
