About 15 years ago, this environmentally conscious state with a fir tree on its license plates began pushing the idea of making renewable energy from the ocean waves that bob and swell on the Pacific horizon. But then one of the first test-buoy generators, launched with great fanfare, promptly sank. It was not a good start. Continue reading
Tag Archives: wave and tidal power
No 10 asks ministers: Can we now support £30bn Severn barrage?
The ambitious plan to harness tidal power could generate 20,000 jobs, but concerns remain about the impact on wildlife Continue reading
The Physics of Tidal Energy
As my colleague Jess Bidgood reported in Friday’s paper, a tidal energy project is moving ahead in Maine, with high costs but high hopes too. But the 180-kilowatt unit that the Ocean Renewable Power Company hopes to put under water next week is really just a first step. The big question is, how well will it withstand the force of the rushing water? Continue reading
Scientists seek next wave in power generation
Aerospace engineers are working to make ocean wave energy the nation’s newest source of green power by applying the physics of wind turbines to the sea. Continue reading
UK energy flows 2010: sources, losses, exports and consumption of energy
Graphic from the Department of Energy and Climate Change shows a breakdown of UK energy flows from source to end product for 2010 Continue reading
Posted in Baseload Energy, Coal, Nuclear power, Oil and gas
Tagged hydro power, natural gas, solar power, wave and tidal power, Wind power
Waves could power Melbourne by 2050: CSIRO
Australia’s ocean waves have the potential to produce enough energy to power a city the size of Melbourne by 2050, a new CSIRO study says. Continue reading
The Navy Finds Extra Power In The Waves Beneath Its Ships
The power created by the up-and-down motion of the ocean has usually been written off as a useless power source. But the Navy is using enormous buoys to help it create its own source of renewable energy. Continue reading
Explainer: storing renewable energy
Storage is one of the highest technological barriers to the spread of renewable energy. When the sun is shining, the tide turning or the wind howling, how do we collect that energy and keep it to use when generation is down? Continue reading
Posted in Clean energy
Tagged energy infrastructure, solar power, wave and tidal power, Wind power
UK On Collision Course With Europe Over Renewable Energy Targets
The UK is set for a showdown with Europe over the proposed introduction of a new set of legally binding renewable energy targets beyond 2020. Continue reading
Charles Kennedy: The Huge Renewable Energy Potential of Alaska
Alaska is a vast state that would stretch from California to Florida if superimposed over the lower 48 states; it has twice the shoreline of all the lower 48 states combined, and boasts a varying geography that includes rivers, volcanoes, and windswept tundras. Continue reading
UK: Cameron to view revived Severn barrage plan
The Prime Minister is to be briefed on plans for a £30bn, 10-mile tidal barrage from Somerset to South Wales which could provide 5 per cent of Britain’s total electricity. David Cameron signalled his backing, telling MPs: “A huge amount of renewable energy could be delivered through a barrage of this kind.” Continue reading
New Bill Proposes To Extend Wind Energy PTC, Slash Oil Subsidies
A group of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives has introduced new legislation that would extend a number of incentives for wind power and other forms of renewable energy while stripping subsidies for fossil fuels. Continue reading
Posted in Biomass, Clean energy, Economics
Tagged energy subsidies, geothermal, government subsidies, hydro power, solar power, wave and tidal power, Wind power
Tide turns in favour of wave power instead of wind farms
VOTERS in Scotland appear to be turning away from wind farms, a new survey has shown, in a blow to the Scottish Government’s renewable ambitions. Continue reading
EU push for ocean energy set to fall short
Europe’s wave and tidal power technology is likely to disappoint EU expectations for 2020 and take over a decade to contribute to energy supply in a significant way, even though it is chalking up rapid growth and drawing in big industrial investors. Continue reading
