HUGE NEW ENERGY IN U.S. WAVES AND TIDES

Riding the Waves and Tides to a Cleaner Energy Future

Joan M. Bondareff, September 29, 2015 (Marine Technology News)

“…For the first time progress is being made in the U.S. to develop offshore wind resources…But recently, progress is also being made in the development of tidal and wave energy resources closer to shore, which are known as marine hydrokinetic or MHK resources…[which] generate electricity from waves or directly from the flow of water in ocean currents, tides or inland waterways. Ocean thermal energy is also part of the MHK equation but has not been actively pursued…

click to enlarge

"The technically recoverable resource for electric generation from waves is approximately 1,170 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year which is almost one third of the 4,000 TWh of electricity used in the U.S. each year. Approximately 85,000 homes can be powered by 1 TWh/year…The technical resource potential for tidal generation is estimated to be 250 TWh/year…The technical resource potential for electric generation from ocean thermal resources is estimated at 576 TWh/year in U.S. coastal waters, including all 50 states...[But] companies are left largely on their own to develop, fund and promote MHK technologies with limited federal and state support…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet