Wave Power - Catch It
by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC
Innovation. I just like the word. The sound of it has flow and the meaning is filled with hope for the future. I wasn’t always keen on the idea of feeding our lives with yet more technology, but connecting with, rather than exploiting, the powerful resources of nature has been the missing link in runaway science of the industrial revolution.
Annette von Jouanne, an electrical engineering professor at Oregon State University, knows the power of the waves. Von Jouanne, an avid surfer, is director of the school’s Wallace Energy Systems and Renewables Facility, heading research on the wave power of the West coast as alternative energy. Wave power has many advantages over solar and wind - providing more power from smaller volume. Wave power is also available 80 - 90 percent of the time, compared to wind and solar, which can measure as low as 45 - 65% in availability.
While wave power is uniquely predictable, current available wave energy systems are complex and vulnerable to the untamed marine environment. Von Jouanne is working on a simpler system, using her expertise and passion for the open water. She is working with O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory, state and federal agencies and private companies, such as Ocean Power Technologies.
The Ocean experts make up one big Think Tank and I’m excited about the possibilities. In some ways, we need to turn back the clock to the simpler, healthier ways of living. But REDUCE, reuse, recycle, CFLs and a return to local farming, will not be enough. We need to reTHINK the way we harvest the power we do need and innovative science will play an important role in getting us there in time to save our lives on this planet. Surf’s Up!
(Sierra Magazine regularly reports on environmental innovators and other heroes of our changing times.)
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