Such an awesome idea and does not look all too complicated! I'm glad to see it is in practice and not just in theory, something that may help for other countries to adopt this idea!

Definitely cool to see. In the US, Oregon is in the process of putting wave energy devices into practice as well. There are a lot of different technologies being tested in the world right now, and Oregon is looking at buoys as the devices to harness the wave energy here.

Amazing to learn people finally put it to practice! Congratulations and pls keep up a good work!

i could be going overboard, but u might get some extra juice by putting solar panels on them. i know, there seems to be the attitude to just slap panels on everything.

but one worry is keeping these things securely contained. dont want to electrocute sea life or beach goers.

Budget... cmon man. Those are some kinda silly points. First, these things appear to be making like... you know, decent amounts of power? If three of them power fifteen hundred homes. It'd probably cost more to cover them in solar panels than to build a new system (by probably I mean definately, many many times more), and it wouldn't make much energy to boot. Solar panels are still a novelty for everyone but pot farmers; they're just not high enough producers of energy for their price, and they only work at their best a couple of hours a day.

And electrocuting people? Really? All they have to seal is a single box at the bottom. If it breaks open, it's going to short out, not just dump tons of energy into the ocean. As a matter of a fact, these things would be great FOR dumping energy into the ocean, meaning for providing power to create seacrete to create reef structure.

But, anyway, this is pretty neat. I don't see why it's the first one in the world, though? That kind of just sounds like a random lie. All it is is a buoy attatched to a rope which moves a pair of opposing magnets (you know, wraps and unwraps around an axle) to create electricity. The power generation equipment would be the exact same as in hydroelectric or wind projects.

Hell, any idiot could build a small version of this thing in their back yard. That really sounds like a lie that it is the first use of them.

This technology needs to work with geothermal

NEEDS MOAR WINDMILLS

With all these wave farms will the moon crash onto earth?

Go Portugal Go

@LOL: http://www.cm-pvarzim.pt/fomento-economico/desenvolvimento-economico/parque-de-ondas-de-agucadoura/parque-de-ondas-da-agucadoura-ja-produz-energia

This is about 20 miles away from the place I work.

great nature friendly & safe resouce for energy

I live a few miles away from this stuff, and i had no ideia it even existed. It's really curious to find news from my country in a blog like this! Good work. Keep up

That's very cool. Any idea how much these things cost to make?

Wow that is truly amazing! I hope more will follow

www.online-privacy.cz.tc

This isn't the first "wave farm". People are very impressed by this I see... but this is actually been around for centuries. Nova Scotia (in Canada) built a wave farm in the 80's and it generates more than twice as much power as this farm.

Read this:
http://peakenergy.blogspot.com/2008/10/tidal-power-in-nova-scotia.html

Great idea with huge potential! Only concern is with all of this energy in the waves the amount of maintainance it will take to keep them functioning. Hopefully this is one of several technologies to make us carbon neutral.
For global warming though I think to have a big effect people need to be weened off high meat diet.

Good stuff.
Japan should have this one too.

Thanks for linking to my "tidal power in nova scotia" post - but I should point out that is about *tidal* power, not *wave* power - there is a significant difference.

For a comprehensive rundown of all projects (of both types) that I know of, check this out:

http://peakenergy.blogspot.com/2008/02/tapping-source-power-of-oceans.html

Well if it works, it works.

Hey.. Great job Portugal! This is the first wave power generator. I know portugal also has hot springs all over San Miguel.. maybe they can tap geothermal too!
Nova Scotia has Tidal power generators, and for good reason! Have you ever been there? there's a 40ft. difference between high and low tide!

Think of what a wave farm could also do to help protect vulnerable coast lines ... such as down in Mississippi and Louisiana whose natural barriers have almost been rendered useless. It probably wouldn't do a whole lot, but it's at least a start ... plus everyone can benefit from the energy.

great job dude

OPEC nations please take note! at any price, we don't really need your polluting oil and can, with a little though, and some small effor,t do without it! Oil contains benzine, a major cause of cancer in humans. My ribbon is pink, what color is yours? Bravo Portugal!

Combination of wind, wave, geothermal and hydrogen with solar power should work wonders. But politicians will spoil every thing unless they get huge kick backs.

We heard about these devices a while back. it is exciting to see that they are working and providing energy to thousands of homes. Wonderful!

Trigeia Twinz

http://www.TrigeiaBlog.com

Whats Your Passion ?

Invented in Bonny Scotland, after a blokes wife told hom to! Afraid I have no reference for this, but saw it on TV a couple of weeks ago.

nice

Does anyone have a link to video of these things in action? I think it would be cool to see how exactly they move in the waves.

When all this energy is harvested from the tidal forces or waves, what effect will it have upon the ocean itself? Remember energy is a zero sum game. Beware the eco-bullshit.

I'm from new zealand... and its really good to see that this sort of power generation could save alot of money! Not to mention... FAR cheaper to set up rather then Dams and Nuclear energy (New Zealand is famous for 100% Nuclear free). We use mainly wind power, hydrodams, and very rarely... solar. We are isolated by miles and miles of ocean... we have HUGE swells no more then 50km away... perhaps this idea could be a solution later in the future.

Wow... love this post. I am glad you decided to post such an innovative application. Alternative energy can often be so simple in concept. I will certainly share this with my marine biology students at: http://stjoeh2o.ning.com

this thing is awesome. it looks like the red solid boosters on the space shuttle.

over here we still consume red diesel to warm up.. i feel shamed!

Outstanding job guys!! Keep it up, eventually America will wake up - until then there are still some of us watching in amazement.

WOW!!! This is amazing. We could use a couple of those in South Africa. Only problem is the Cape of storms. We usually have 10meter high waves over here in the storm season. Thinks a these things will end up in someone backyard. We currently have a lot of wind power generators, which works fantastic. There is a option now of getting a wind generator for each home that will also heat the water in the home. Only problem it is to expensive for the notmal persons budget.

Nice. Juicy frankfurters with sexy rocking motion.

Seems as though there is some bad information here. The world uses 15TW annually, not 2TW [see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(power)]. There is 356,000km [or 222,500 miles] of shoreline in the world. [See https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2060.html]. To generate the world's energy needs, you'd have to set 90 of these things for every mile of shoreline on every beach in every country of the world. That's 1 every 58 feet! Not what I want to see when I go to the beach . . .

It is ridiculous that people come here to criticize when they should think this is a great idea to support and to divulge. THINK GREEN THE PLANET NEEDS IT

TruthBeTold: Put a few hundred metres offshore you wouldn't see them unless from a high place. And what a great way to foul up an aggressor's invasion plans..nothing but small boats would get past them! Everyone needs to start thinking "anything but hydrocarbon". Between wind, solar, waves, there should be enough. If not, curtail use.

Seems as though there is some bad information here. The world uses 15TW annually, not 2TW [see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(power)]. There is 356,000km [or 222,500 miles] of shoreline in the world. [See https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2060.html]. To generate the world's energy needs, you'd have to set 90 of these things for every mile of shoreline on every beach in every country of the world. That's 1 every 58 feet! Not what I want to see when I go to the beach . . .

I am the first to say we need it all. But this is no where near the horse power we need to beat Peak Oil.

Great post though!

Put solar cells on them? They could then power 1503 homes instead of 1500.

Duckballs: You tell us what effect this will have on the oceans. Do you have a better idea? Where does your energy come from?

Uncle B: To be oil free, it will not take a little thought and a small effort, It will take a lot of thought and a big effort. Worth it in my opinion.

TruthBeTold: I am always skeptical when I read so-called facts on sites like this. Although I did not verify your numbers, I applaud you for stating references for anyone who doubts them.

We need to be creative, develop, test and implement those energy sources which show promise.

Great post.

Thank you.

BRAVO!!!!!!!!! THANK GOD there are still some men devoted to doing things that are right as opposed to doing things that are self-profiting..

tremendous!

What's holding it up. Sounds like an answer.

Very good idea. Let's get more of these out.

If they could strap on some wind turbines on top, wave turbines underneath strung along the pistons, which also somehow use geothermal heat and solar heat to like, boil water that keeps one unified electric generator moving, that would be awesome.

This is such an awesome idea. More of these please!

It's cool, but I didn't see any mention of price???? That is the reason windmills and other renewable energy sources aren't practical.

Not to bore you, but these babies were built in Arnish, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides and shipped to Portugal

Awesome technique.

very usefull information, i think istanbul(bosphorus) is one of the best palace for this technologie.
i hope someone are going to think about this...

Need more of those off the west coast.

very nice

Like everything else to do with energy there will certainly be some ecological downsides. The most important environmental quality "devise" is GOOD community planning. Mixed zoning--no commuting--lots of relaxing / interesting / interacting walking / running / pedaling.

BUENO SON MAS FOME

"while internal pistons, attached to the sea floor"

attached to the sea floor?? You mean.. in the ocean, on the sea bed.. where the fish live.

about as environMENTALLY friendly as hyrdo I say.

better luck next time.

Add geothermal at seafloor and wind turbines above for more power per device...

This is just one of the MANY ways we can ween ourselves off of fossil fuels. If you check out the zeitgeist movie website you will see that there are soo many possibilities.

I think you should mention the location where the device is at work.
Only lazy governments keep exploiting fossil sources of energy. They wantt us to pay huge taxes on petrol instead of promoting the renewable sources of clean energy like this.

very good.
hope to see this device in India.

this is great i have thought of this and other way,s but no one want,s to listen but now thank the good people we are starting to get off oil and waist full systems

I think we should forget these and burn more coal instead - they're ugly!

You don't get energy for free. By removing the energy from the waves, you are reducing the wave size when it reaches the shore. Reduced wave size means less air/water mixing. It means less sediment deposit onshore. It means less nutrition brought from the shore and mixed into the water.

So, what are the long-term affects of this solution? What happens if we spread this around every bay and inlet in the world? Will the estuaries start to die off? I love how everyone says how great these are when the long-term issues (or for that matter short term) are not investigated.

I've seen them talk about that on http://www.efficientgreenpower.com - they are pretty sweet!

I just stumbled upon this site and am amazed as to how many homes are being serviced by these
entergy converters. Will they be comming to the USA soon if so how do i find out and how do they pick which homes should be serviced.

Every engine produces waisted heat especially inefficient engines. What will we do with all that heat? I'll leave you with that thought or please contact me if you are genuinely commercially interested in developing my inventions. YF Ross

I would like to use this on some of my shirts.

en toch verwacht ik sneeuw !

I can't believe so many people are falling for this 'alternative' energy garbage. Sure this idea is cool, but it totally doesn't scale and it totally disruptive to the oceans! Just look at how ugly these are!? Can you imagine tons of these things?! Total death trap for sea creatures and boats. Remember people thought windmills were great ideas as well, but those kill tons of birds. I would much rather see a single ocean oil rig out there, pumping the most efficient energy we have. In 10 years humanity will look back and see what a waste it was investing all the money into these lame alternative sources, which the countries that continue to developed better oil sources will rule the earth. Drill now or die.

very exciting and interesting

I congratulate you guys and your countrymen for taking these steps. It is so wise to use the resources God has given us. May those around the world take note especially in America where we have opportunities to make a huge difference in the lives of people.

Congrats!

there are others that have been around longer that use wave power - here is an example
http://www.oceanlinx.com/

What is the effect on sea life and the environment? Nice that it generates energy, however humans are not the only beings on the planet.

This has been tried before, with many variations. It works, its efficient, and more reliable than wind. The big BUT is corrosion. Any metal device in sea water is likely to have a short working life. Maybe new materials are overcoming this, but it was the death of all earlier attempts at wave-power extraction. Good luck, guys. (BTW, all you moaners, its harmless to sea life and safer than houses, and I think it looks pretty neat, myself.)

Renewable energy has just gone wireless!

Google Gentec wats for more info.

It would be nice to see the world power industry turn to this new form of clean energy, though it would be much harder for ships to navigate around if they ever came to close to these. If a piston would break, there could be a nasty mishap with the ocean. Unless there is more info about this wave generator somewhere with more info about the construction of it.

Always in favour of non-polluting (or less-polluting) means of providing energy, although even better to reduce the amounts of energy consumed globally.
Just a thought; it's important to bear in mind the life-cost of any energy-producing equipment, i.e. the amount of materials and energy required to create the equipment in the first place and to maintain it throughout its working life.
Hazards to marine life? I don't believe that these devices inherently pose more of a threat than, say, trawler nets or ships' propellers, and in the event of a breakdown I would imagine the damage would be miniscule compared to the devastation caused by oil slicks from damaged/shipwrecked oil tankers.
Please think of all the other options before you criticise; at least Portugal (and the manufacturers in Scotland!) are trying to do something to help and that's better than doing nothing.

Amazing! Why haven't we heard about this on the news?

Great sit!!! .

Please the sun is for free,, more solar energy it`s the only way,,,and clean

Its hard to imagine the amounts of power that much water could generate. Could put Hoover dam to shame

It's funny how they always talk about power output in how many "homes" that can be powered. The largest users of electricity, of course, are industrial customers! An average home's electrical demand varies wildly, depending on which appliances are in use at any given moment.

That said, it's great to hear that wave power technology is coming of age. The hydraulic system is great - that way the generation equipment can be on shore rather than underwater. I imagine they use stainless components to avoid the corrosion issue. I would imagine that pests like barnacles would be a greater concern.

I wonder how they deal with the tides? Perhaps they have automatic winches that change the cable lengths for optimum output.

Oh, and NAMIBMAN, where do you think wave energy comes from originally?

photo ad

First I have to wonder the process in which everything was made.
High heat, oil and chemical hardeners are used to make silicon
and plastics for the electronic wafers and the insulators on the wiring.
Vapors from the heating process evaporate up into the o-zone layer.
How much how many solvents were used to keep everything grease free,
solvents end up in the water basin which end up in the ocean.
In the heating process, how much fossil fuel was used in the heating of oil,
resins and hardeners to create the silicon wafer(mother boards)
and insulation for the wiring and cables. To heat the iron,
copper and nickel to make the wire cables and internal wiring,
how much fossil fuels were used? What if every coastal country created ten of these?
Go ahead make my day! Polluting to create clean energy does not make sense!
Then to maintain the equiptment, how much pollution is required to maintain the process?

Then to top it all off, to remove the metals from the ground and ship to be processed, and to process the fossil fuels into a fuel that will burn. How much pollution will be released into the atmosphere?

good luck to them at least their not being held over a barrel by the arabs

Please don't put these in front of my break, consider the impact before you jump on board for any new technology. Wind/Solar has a smaller impact, our oceans have enough intrusion as is.

I sure am glad to see that there are people in this world who are trying to solve the energy problems that we face in today's world. As for me, I'm grateful to those who are stepping up to the plate and trying to do something about it. I am sure that we will find many ways as to how Not to solve it, before we find the right solution. So to those who are trying, I say, "Thanks, and whether we fail or succeed, may your efforts always be met with encouragement!

I am all for alternative energy. My question concerns electromagnetic fields and the effect on the sealife around the machines. Underwater Animal operate on various frequencies will they experience interference?

Leave the ocean alone, haven't we done enough to it filling it with our garbage and sewage? Now we want to fill it up with large devices to generate electricity?

The sea is the cradle of life and the active mechanism that makes the Earth work. Leave it be

Finally! Glad to see someone actually making power out of the waves. I wonder what the life expectancy of the device is?

notice they didnt tell you who made it, what to do to help your own situation, who profits, how this is something you should promote in your own contry.. really a feelgood story of little and no consequense so that you'll belive technology will always save you from your SUV usage. The rain forests _will_ be unsaveable in 5 years and you _know_ it!

Great idea! Too bad some people have to add green criticism.They couldn't live without the products they criticize.

Interesting. Wonder what maintenance is needed. Have heard an idea of floating wind turbines out at sea because of the NIMBYs [not in my back yard] Thats a good idea too, just out of view ha ha!

This is a great idea,has anyone thought about limiting populations on the earth,there's a freakin idea.The poor need to stop procreating because they just make babies with no thought of taking care of the child.We are truly evil when it comes to polluting the earth Heres an idea-Where are the say 7 billion or so human tirds going everyday-lmao!!How about the 40 mile swath of trash in the ocean just circling,or the space debris.Its not if we are glabbally warming or not,whoever can prove what doesnt matter,its just the lsightest chance say we are and we are doing nothing about it because humans are trash and dont care-

that is just awesome and inspiring. i am beginning to think that anything from nature with brute force has the potential to generate renewable energy.

A few notes: Basic design is a derivation that has evolved from (but different to) the Salter's Duck; so named after its British (Scottish?) inventor Professor Stephen Salter in the mid-70's. DISMISSED by the UK government (then and now) as inviable due to (miscalculated by government officials) implementation & maintenance costs(!!)

Pistons are INTERNAL between sections and NOT directly anchored to the sea bed as stated - but the overall device clearly must be and is anchored - if only by the power output cable! Automatic tether cable length adjustment typically covers the issue of rising and falling tides. The technology can work equally well on fresh water lakes and sea lochs too.

Virtually ANY alternative power technology involves the use of SOME materials and/or processes that we might otherwise wish to do without. History has shown we ARE capable of finding better alternatives over time - ozone friendlier electronic materials and processes are a good historical reference for this - e.g. lead free solder (NO lead allowed at all any more - has not been for some time) plus ozone friendly solvents and cleaning fluids.

Virtually ALL power generation of practically ANY kind involves "pollution" of one sort or another. Wind turbines "pollute" the landscape with their sight (pretty to some maybe) and noise (go live near one and see just HOW noisy they can be), Wave energy devices "pollute" the seascape view with their high contrast colour (for obvious reasons). Solar power (electronic and heat extraction varieties) "pollute" the landscape view as intrusively (potentially more so) as a large highway project and potentially require use of toxic materials.

Hydro power (mechanical) "pollutes" by submerging huge tracts of land to form reservoirs (which, granted can often provide other human and animal use water sources and resources).

The "Green" question is (and MUST be) one of suitability and diversity in implementation, not ALL or nothing as some seem to imply in this set of comments. It is interesting however, that precious little is ever mentioned about Geo-Thermal energy and even less OFFICIAL research is being undertaken into low-power, high voltage electro-static molecular separation of water (electro-static electrolysis rather than high-power and energy inefficient "Faraday" (electro-dynamic) electrolysis.

We cannot afford to "wait" for "Fusion" to happen, but must avail ourselves of EVERY opportunity to trial and utilise as many different alternative forms of energy generation as possible.

Bravo to Portugal for taking a British invention and putting it to great use. Shame on the UK government of the 70's and today (BOTH socialist!!) for failing to invest properly in this type of technology, especially as per capita the UK has some of the most suitable seas. The UK also has the second highest tidal rise in the world to that of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia at some 15 metres plus (or around 48-49 feet) in the Bristol Channel/Severn Estuary.

Shame too on those critics (herein and elsewhere) who fail to grasp the significant short to mid-term difference this type of technology can make in reducing TOTAL carbon footprint of energy production whilst we seek even better alternatives.

Bob Lewis B.Tech, MIET

good

What an EYESORE!

great on those people who put this power by water in place, here in Ireland we could do this with the sea surrounding us on all sides, as for solar panels they do not give enough energy or hot water to merit what we are asked to pay for them in the first place, if our governments were serious they would help us to have them installed, guess they only help themselves first. not the environment

At last someone with both cash and balls big enough to raise a finger at the fossil fuel petro-chemical companies! The british government has kow-towed to them for years, their cash and the promise of an easy life after government if they don't rock the boat. That or a real short political career...
Good for Portugal for getting the ball rolling, because as with any invention the next generation will have more diverse design, have better design with better materials and ergonomics. They can only get more efficiant from here on in.
Also there is no need for these things to look hideous, they can be hidden under dockyards or further off shore. Perhaps areas a few miles square a few miles offshore full of these devices, maybe a square every 15 miles all the way round the coast. Or put flat tops on the devices and let people sunbathe and fish of them.
If whoever owns this thing goes public I would invest. Perhaps mount our ever growing prison population on the ones out at sea and see how many inmates think nick is the easy option.

slt ca va

Love this idea, but what is the life span of the hardware and what type of maintenance is required. Just a thought!

Being next door to the bay of fundy the wave harnessing is very important to me...way to go potuga.

This would be the solution to power my plastic bottle island with integrated biorock structure!!. Cool idea! Check out the construction plan for Center Island here: http://www.kohtao.ch/center-island-planung-einer-plastikflascheninsel - On March 5th, Save Koh Tao will vote if we are going to build this plastic bottle island here on Koh Tao.

Ya know, I'm ok with all these things, so don't take me wrong here... Just wonder how many windmills will it take to slow wind enough to have some harmful effect? How many wave generators until they produce damaging effects in some unforeseen manner? Honestly, I personally do not know the answers there and I'm pretty sure that we won't be able to stop ALL the waves or halt ALL the winds. I just wonder about these things, don't you?

I believe in any device that contributes to green,power of this magnitude could be a relief for Hawaii and all islands as a practicle power source.This will continue to evolve into more humanitarian relief with conntributions toward more thinkers developing electricity to lower cost and polution. Amen brother,keep mankind moving forward.

these things are really smart, i helped make some of the internal hydraulics,

What I always miss in this sort of articles is:

1. MTBF (mean time between failure)
2. Cost Price
3. Price of producted energy
4. N° 2 divide by n° 3 = ROI = Return on Investment

Then we can see when we could leave nuclear energy without affecting our economy...

When will they start desalination?

Fantastic way to produce power.

Nice wqebsite. LG

Not only is this a lot safer and friendlier then nuke plants but its also going to create a lot of job for people in the maintenance on them, if other countries go for it that is. but this is huge i just wonder how its going to effect the waters?

Hmmm. Now if we can just harness the energy of all of us tippy-tapping away on our computers, we will truly have a surplus!!!

As a ex chief engineer in the US merchant marines I am all for this type of harnessing power. It not only produces power but it also helps the production of marine life. If it is utilized properly it can cut down on erosion of shores and create more area for marine life to thrive, anyone that has spent time at sea knows that objects floating in the water support the base of the food chain and where there is food others creatures come to feed. I would love to be involved in a project like this one. Good work and don't let those that don't know tell you how.

The Wave of the Future. Yeah, yeah, I know.

Get a clue! Cost to design, test, build, maintain. You are out of your freaking goard! Yor might as well ask for some tarp money. At least it is an illogical method for the mismanagement of of our funds.

Working everyday to create natural, toxin free solutions to improve people's lives, I love this one. In the US, I would love to see the coastal states feeding something back to the interior without a big toxic foot print.

What an awesome 'green' technology. We WILL be seeing more of this in the future.

After reading some of these post that disagree with this type of project I can't believe how many of them just don't understand the feasability of this, are you all land lovers that know nothing of the sea? We should all be encouraging this type of work because it not only will help with energy solutions but as with any scientific endevore many new and worthy bits of information are found. If this the first of it's kind to be in use today just think of what is to come. Look at the cars of today verses the model A. Where do we draw the line? Who decides this? More political bs or do we as free thinking people strive to better our world through all kinds of improvments that hopfuly will pay for itself in the open market. I have seen enough changes in the marine industry to force me to keep an open mind and I hope that all you doughters can at least support those who have put up the funds to continue this kind of research. Please encourage this type of private research to avoid the politicans grabbing ahold of this and trying to shove it down our throats claiming global warming. I don't buy into that type of mass hysteria but I strongly agree with this type of research. It is in it's infantcy stage let us allgive it a little time.

Impractical, and an economic dead duck.

B. Lewis: here's a "Fusion" alternative you may not be up on. Within about 5 yrs the confirming experiments AND engineering refinements should be in place to begin making available (licensing) a cookie-cutter design for Focus Fusion reactors. As presently envisaged, it would cost about $¼M to produce and emplace a 5GW generator, and power would price at around ¼¢ / KWH. Both figures are under 1/20 of current best costs. Zero emissions, zero waste (hot helium4).

Check out their progress at focusfusion.org .

This will economically sideline virtually every existing power model, never mind high-cost "alternatives".

One of the best renewable energy sources we have. Every nation should invest some of their money in this type of renewable energy to make our planet better for our next generations.

This truly is "The Wave of the Future " howard hughes . Wind and Wave action pumping Water in Wineries result in Watts saved in one Winning way ! Fantastico

HOW WELL WOULD THIS WORK ON RIVERS LIKE HORSESHOE FALLS IN LABRADOR

Has anyone thought about the environmental impact? Yeah, we have an alternative energy... but now we have fewer waves. What does this do to marine life? Does the planet lose rotational energy? Does the day get longer? Green energy isn't always free. Just wondering the scale of this.

WOW!Can we hook this tech up to my waterbed?I could juice up the south east in one night!

hmm. but can anybody explaine why it's better then using windmill? If I'm right, waves are made by wind. So why do we need yet one transformation?

While this does seem to provide the green feel that everyone is talking about, to provide only 1500 homes compared to the water environment seems like a really bad contrast.

If we could generate 5 percent of the worlds needs , the price of oil would drop.

Another piece of the puzzle - combine technologies like this with the many other options out there and we're on our way out of the petroleum age.

Don't let the American unregulated vulture capitalists in on this one! Look what they did to the Chevrolet! By the time they are done, that thing will be five times as long, produce half the power, be owned by illegal but highly profitable to trade, fund bundles, be over-rated for security , sold to the world as stable, and defaulted on, as soon as the lies are discovered! They will totally forget the human and environmental aspect and concentrate on the " % " commissions and scuttle the whole idea after raping it for all they can steal, by taking it for a market "run", and then some! Build your own, use the power in reasonably eco-sound, well insulated survival shelters of the common folk of the world, Never ever be sold McMansions or any other pricey crap as part af a "Deal" to hook up to your new found power, no matter how good the kick-backs make your pocket book look, and if you can, work in any other currency than the U.S. Dollar, to avoid the shysters, shylocks, banksters, gangsters and downright crooks that come with it! The U.S.A. is sinking like a stone, and its dollar with it! Trade in "Yuan", they don't steal you blind, at least not right away, and seek a fairer situation for the average folk in the world, not the piggery the U.S. indulges in! Good stuff! Enough to power all but the "extrvagent American" part of the world from the sea! I like it.

Great to see more green innovations helping to capture energy!

What a fantastic idea. I'm glad they finally got it figured out! Now let's get it to where everyone can use it. I think that's the worst part about all the green inventions... people get all excited about them but they are never readily available for the general public!
-Sylvia