Tapping Ocean Motion Power

The untapped renewable potential of marine energy, also known as hydrokinetic energy, is massive. Oscilla Power’s Triton wave energy converter (WEC) has a unique ability to generate power from all oceanic movements. “Conventional devices can only tap the up and down motion, called the heave,” CEO Balky Nair says. Triton “also taps energy from the pitch, roll, yaw, sway, and surge of a wave.” Multiple Tritons—each composed of a surface float and submerged ring-shaped generator—can be strung together to create an offshore power grid. The system is strong enough to survive a 60-foot wave and can produce about the same kilowatts as a land-based wind turbine for the same ballpark cost. A year-long pilot of the first commercial-scale product will begin by the end of this year in Hawaii.

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