When Green Energy is Blue Energy: Power From the Sea
Considerable work is being done with OWCs, and they way be the most advanced wave power system. The University of Michigan is studying them and has developed prototypes, and functioning OWCs have been used in England, Norway, and Australia.
Australia's Oceanlinx OWC power generation facility. (image: usyd.edu.au)
It may not yet be large scale or common, but OCW technology is already here.
Another shoreline or near-shoreline system is TAPCHAN, or “TAPered CHANnel.” This is basically a hydroelectric dam, such as you might find on a major river—just without the river. Waves surge up a sloping, tapered (or narrowing) channel built along the shore, spilling into a reservoir above sea level. From there, the water can pour down through a turbine, generating power, the same way water can pour through or over a dam to generate electricity.
The TAPCHAN system resembles a more conventional dam. (image: rise.org.au)
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