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Wave Power Fails To Live Up To Promise

Posted by Soulskill on from the water-under-the-bridge dept.

the_newsbeagle writes: One of the leading companies developing wave power devices, Ocean Power Technologies, has dramatically scaled down its ambitions. The company had planned to install the world's first commercial-scale wave farms off the coast of Australia and Oregon, but has now announced that it's ending those projects. Instead it will focus on developing next-gen devices. Apparently the economics of wave power just don't make sense yet.

4 of 198 comments (clear)

  1. Lots of problems with it by gurps_npc · · Score: 3, Insightful
    But I can easily see a small scale usage for it.

    Primary examples would be installed on sea installations, like say oil drilling platforms. Why ship in fuel to an oil drilling platform, when you can simply install a wavepower generator to provide the power. Then, once you find oil, you don't have to get rid of the wave power generator. Keep it and use wave power to get the oil, rather than burning oil just to get more oil.

    Also, I could easily see a small scale wave power generator designed for boats, particularly house boats.

    --
    excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
  2. Re:Wave power can work by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Because artificial manipulations of free markets always works out as intended!

    --
    Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  3. Re:When doing anything involving the ocean by itzly · · Score: 3, Insightful

    There are no "islands". Just a higher density of tiny bits of plastic.

  4. Re:Golden opportunity missed... by Citizen+of+Earth · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This project was very successful, considering that the central purpose of all alternative-energy projects is to extract government subsidies. Any other outcome is coincidental.