Ireland Is Looking To Wave Power
By: John Vinson
Anyone who has been to the beach knows how fun it is to get caught up in the waves that flow in off the tide. It’s looking like these waves provide more than just fun at the beach, they could also provide power in the future.
WaveBob and Ocean Energy are the two major companies involved with wave energy research. Their research is being conducted in Ireland, where energy produced from oceanic waves is at its’ highest. WaveBob’s energy producing prototype is constructed like a buoy. The buoy rests off the coast and absorbs the energy from the waves. Just one of these buoys is capable of producing a megawatt of power, which translates into 1,000 homes.
(Photo Credit: WaveBob)
Andrew Parish, speaks about WaveBob’s mission and what they hope to accomplish, “This is a giant leap forward for renewable energy production in Ireland . At Wavebob Ltd., we anticipate that power generated by the Wavebob will soon help to lessen our over-reliance on the fossil fuels that currently provide the majority of the world’s power. As an island in the middle of the energetic Atlantic Ocean , Ireland can be to wave-energy what Saudi Arabia is to oil. The more we exploit this unlimited natural resource, the better it will be, not just for the global environment, but also for the Irish consumers pocket.”
As of now, the technology is just in prototype form. WaveBob hasn’t even begun testing using a full scale buoy. But as of now all the research looks positive, and looks to begin commercial production somewhere around 2015. They are also looking to be able to export their wave energy to other places around the globe.