The market
It is estimated that $190 billion of investments in new energy sources over the next two decades will be devoted to tidal, ocean current, or wave-based technologies. The International Energy Agency estimates that tidal power could produce 200 TW per year, while wave power could produce 8,000 TW. Production could reach, according to some estimates, 80,000 TW. Within a decade, the United States could produce 10 GW of wave power and 3 GW of tidal power. Once harnessed, the potential in the United States would be sufficient to produce 6% of the country's electricity demand. However, most of the technological development in ocean energy originates in Europe, supported by cap-and-trade policies that make all renewable energies a nascent sector. The most promising regions for wave energy are Alaska, the North Sea, northeastern Canada, the Eastern Cape of South Africa, southern Brazil and Argentina, Japan, Indonesia, and South Australia. Regions with high potential for tidal energy development include the Bering Strait, northeastern Brazil, the Great Lakes of North America, the North Cape from Norway to Russia, the Korean Peninsula to the South China Sea, Northwest Australia, and New Zealand. The only country to have successfully implemented a tidal energy system is France. The Rance tidal power station in Brittany has produced 240 MW of electricity annually since its construction in 1966. The United Kingdom is a pioneer in wave energy through the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC). The United States pioneered another form of ocean-based energy in Hawaii: harnessing temperature differences, known as ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). A large portfolio of companies has embarked on the design and construction of equipment to address the considerable environmental and climatological challenges these power generation facilities face. Ocean Power Delivery (Scotland) has joined Vattenfall (Sweden), Enersis (Portugal), and E.On (Germany). Theoretically, the various devices could extract 40 MW of power per kilometer of coastline when waves are small (1 meter) and 1,000 MW per kilometer of coastline when waves reach 5 meters.Innovation
Water is a liquid, and therefore the energy of waves and currents contains about 1,000 times more kinetic energy than wind. This allows even the smallest devices to produce more power. Furthermore, sea waves are produced 24 hours a day. Innovations in mechanical design and maintenance, on the one hand, and reducing environmental impact, on the other, present a challenge for engineers because waves and currents have very high force at low speeds. Electricity generation requires high speeds. A second limiting factor for engineers is harsh weather conditions. Any floating or submerged device tethered to the seabed by cables and chains must withstand storms and even tsunamis. Tim Finnigan, an adjunct professor at the University of Sydney with a degree in environmental fluid dynamics, has observed how giant kelp moves in sync with currents and waves. He realized that giant kelp (Laminaria spp.) grows half a meter a day, sometimes reaching up to 80 meters. Even better, the kelp moves with the currents that bring a wealth of nutrients. When a storm or tsunami hits, these immense underwater forests collapse to the ocean floor. Mr. Finnigan studies the fluid dynamics of kelp movements and converts them into mathematical models that serve as design parameters for an electric generator. His approach addresses both the challenges of speed and mooring. His design is based on geometry borrowed from systems proven in nature. This is one of the fundamental principles of the Blue Economy. Moreover, his patented bioWave generators move through the ocean ecosystem as if it were kelp. His devices have no rotating movements resembling fans or mills, nor do they create dams that stop the flow of nutrients causing siltation, thus posing no known danger to aquatic life. Perhaps the most important feature is that bioWave moves with the flow of currents and waves. Instead of reinforcing the mechanics against the excessive forces created by inevitable storms, Professor Finnigan has managed to adopt the ultimate safety system: when a tsunami hits the area, bioWave remains flat on the seabed like kelp. While the energy of waves and ocean currents has long been considered unprofitable because it cannot withstand the hostile marine environment, Professor Finnigan has learned his lessons in the field and borrowed the intelligence of the ocean's largest algae speciesThe first cash flow
Mr. Finnigan then founded the Sydney-based company BioPower and complemented his knowledge of kelp movement with observations and geometric models of how sharks, tuna, and mackerel propel themselves. This resulted in a portfolio of patents filed under the BioWave and BioStream trademarks. Projects are underway in Australia, Spain, and the United States to transform this wave and current harnessing approach into a highly commercially relevant technological breakthrough. The modular system allows for the installation of 250, 500, and 1,000 MW units in farms close to shore, with minimal visual impact, no underwater stress on the ecosystem, and no excessive anchoring to the seabed.The opportunity
Market development is only just beginning. The propensity to invest in offshore installations is high, and compared to the complexity of wind farms, BioPower offers simplicity and security. The most obvious commercial application is to make small island communities self-sufficient by placing bioWave installations in front of the site requiring electricity. Because the supply is guaranteed and as reliable as the moon's orbit and the law of gravity, this energy source could also provide baseload power. The energy supply from BioWave and bioStream is so certain that an installation of a dozen units can take a population of 10,000 people off the grid, and no one will even have to install light switches. Energy supply will have evolved from a scarcity ensured by polluting diesel generators to an invisible, odorless, and continuous flow.
