A ‘green’ energy company, called Aquamarine Power, has designed a new wave energy harvesting device that captures the energy in ocean waves and converts it into clean sustainable energy. The Oyster wave power device is a buoyant, hinged flap which is attached to the seabed at around a depth of 32 feet, at a distance of about a quarter mile from shore. This hinged flap, which is almost entirely underwater, sways backwards and forwards in the nearshore waves. The movement of the flap drives two hydraulic pistons which push high pressure water onshore to drive a conventional hydro-electric turbine. In essence, the Oyster wave power device is simply a large pump which provides the power source for a conventional onshore hydro-electric power plant. Once commercialized, multiple Oyster wave power devices will be deployed in farms typically of 100MW or more and provide power from a source that is essentially inexhaustible.
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