THE INEVITABLE POWER OF WAVES

Marine Power: Once Cast Away, Now Here to Stay
James Tulloch, April 26, 2010 (Allianz)

[Stephen Salter, 1970s marine energy research pioneer, Institute for Energy Systems/Edinburgh University:] “…Lots of people had thought about wave energy before but had not actually measured the energy in waves. I started working on this at Edinburgh University about two weeks before the Yom Kippur War in 1973—the trigger for the first major oil crisis…We had proper UK government backing from 1974 to 1982."

[Stephen Salter, 1970s marine energy research pioneer, Institute for Energy Systems/Edinburgh University:] “…The average 3-meter high Atlantic wave…[has] enough electricity for 180 UK residents. Four hundred kilometers of the Scottish Atlantic sea front could contribute 20 to 40 Gigawatts…A 1981 Department of Energy report said it would cost five pence (7-8 cents) per kilowatt hour, very close to economic viability…[but the UK government] wanted nuclear power…The official who did most damage to us was then put in charge of public relations for the Dounreay nuclear reactor…"

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[Stephen Salter, 1970s marine energy research pioneer, Institute for Energy Systems/Edinburgh University:] "Slowly and painfully marine energy is making progress. It is certainly one of the harder renewables to get going because you have to get quite big to make it attractive economically…There is a long way to go before it gets to the stage of the wind industry. But one advantage is that people don’t care as much about what you do at sea as they do about having their views spoiled…"

[Stephen Salter, 1970s marine energy research pioneer, Institute for Energy Systems/Edinburgh University:] “…Tidal is very predictable and so it is more market friendly than other renewables…In winter, when there are strong westerly winds, you can convert wave power into electricity steadily for several weeks. If you have got good knowledge of the wind conditions then you can make good wave energy forecasts. That means you can manage the dispatch of energy and bid in the power markets.”

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[Stephen Salter, 1970s marine energy research pioneer, Institute for Energy Systems/Edinburgh University:] “…In Scotland, there are serious practical problems feeding large amounts of power from the coast to population centers because the national grid is designed the other way around. We need a major rethink of the grid…”

[Stephen Salter, 1970s marine energy research pioneer, Institute for Energy Systems/Edinburgh University:] “One issue for wave power devices is heavy storms. It’s better to dodge these forces—like an agile boxer—than stand and fight them so we need flexible machine parts and controls. We don’t always understand how strong the seabed rock is. We need to know that to design seabed attachments to withstand storms…We also need much better ways of deploying these devices. Our installation is very cumbersome and expensive.”