Our oceans may hold the answers to our energy needs.
Since the beginning, mankind has gazed into the abyss of the sea and pondered what could be hiding beneath the waves. But the global energy sector views the ocean in a far different manner. The motion in the ocean could hold the key to powering the world through renewable energy.
How can an intricate “dance” with the ocean power our homes?
What future does the oil industry have in powering the world
If the current state of international geopolitics is anything to go by, there’s not much of a future for oil.
The United States and Israel are currently embroiled in conflict with Iran. This has led the Islamic Republic to cut off the Straight of Hormuz for oil shipments, and virtually all shipping, for that matter.
WIth 20% of the global oil supply waiting for the safe go-ahead to pass through the Straight, global oil prices have skyrocketed to around $100 per barrel.
The impact can be felt across the nation as the price to fill up our cars is getting out of hand. Even the aviation sector has been negatively impacted by the conflict, as jet fuel prices are also soaring.
More and more nations have turned to the renewable energy sector
While the federal government has been actively rolling back the progress made in adopting renewable energy as a main energy resource, other nations are taking a far different approach to the energy transition.
Some nations have deployed their vast strategic petroleum reserves in the face of the global oil shortage.
The combined output from the renewable energy and nuclear sectors has provided roughly 40% of the electricity needed globally. And new data predicts that renewables will overtake the oil and coal sector to become the largest source of electricity by mid-2026.
While solar power has mostly dominated the clean energy market for the past few decades, the oceans may be our next major energy resource.
So how could a system that “dances” with the motion in waves power our homes and businesses? Well, we have a few answers thanks to a new revelation that has come to light.
Tidal energy is not a new development in the renewable energy sector, but this system gets its inspiration from an iconic historical figure.
So get ready for the ocean to power your home in the near future.
A buoy that can harness the kinetic energy in the waves of the ocean
The Archimedes Waveswing is a new development that acts like a submerged wave power buoy in the sea.
Developed by AWS Ocean Energy, the device’s pistons are submerged in the ocean and use passing waves to push the two cylinders up and down in the sea, creating an oscillating motion that is converted into electricity through a direct-drive generator.
It is typically installed in water depths deeper than 82 ft, and one single unit has an output capacity of between 15 kW and 500 kW.
AWS Ocean Energy has noted that the system could potentially be scaled up to produce 10MW, or enough to power up to 300 homes for a year. The developer has noted that because the system operates underwater, it averts the impact of weather-related issues on the sea surface.
What is the next step in developing the Archimedes Waveswing
The project has seen a prototype being tested in the waters of Portugal, and the next step in its development will be to scale the system up to a more commercial-sized output capacity in the near future.
Thanks to the efforts of companies like AWS Ocean Energy Ltd, we now understand that there is a world of energy beneath the waves of the ocean.
Are you ready for “ocean electricity” to power your home?