Wave & Tidal

In the United States' quest to become a new energy powerhouse, marine energy has been low on the Obama Administration's cleantech priority list.  However, with ever-improving technology capable of more-efficiently capturing the power of moving water, marine energy could very well see a spike in interest from the government as...[read more]

Unlike solar and wind power, wave energy still hasn’t captured the public imagination… perhaps because it still remains an untapped energy resource. There’s huge potential — over 2 terrawatts worldwide by some estimations — but, like other renewable energy sources, challenges remain. Viable commercial models for harnessing wave energy...[read more]

When you think of the inception of key new technologies, sometimes geography comes to mind. For example – if I was to ask you what area comes to mind when I say “computer chips” you would probably think “Silicon Valley” in California.  A geographic area like that can become a breeding ground for the (hopefully) successful launch of...[read more]

Grab your sunglasses and your sun tan lotion because we are headed to the Hawaiian islands..oh don't forget your calculator.Energy production in HI sparks the imagination.  Think of all the natural resources available: Wind, Solar, Geothermal (big island), Hydro, biomass, ocean thermal, and tidal.  So where then does all the...[read more]

Successful climate technology innovation may not come from where we most expect it - not from the private sector alone or only from carbon pricing policies. A new report issued by Clean Energy Group (CEG) describes how new innovation models coming from some of the least developed counties are achieving success. These new public-private “innovation system” approaches to accelerate climate technologies in developing countries—using what is being termed “reverse innovation”—could be used by the developed world to overcome similar market barriers for clean energy.[read more]

SEADOG can be used for desalination or as stand-alone renewable electricity generators One of the biggest problems of large-scale water desalination plants is that they require tremendous amounts of electricity to operate. There have been breakthroughs in desalination technology that have drastically reduced the amount of energy...[read more]

Renewable Energy World has an article on PG&E's interest in wave power and projected costs of generation across wave power projects globally - Making a Splash: PG&E Dives Headlong Into Wave Power Project. Drawing power from the churning sea can seem as difficult as finding Kraken the mythical sea monster. Despite tales of...[read more]

This month Chevron and its pragmatic green strategy takes the lead of our monthly list. Our ranking takes into account a player’s ability to influence the cleantech industry, whether it be because of a forceful policy position, access to funding or a combination of the two. 1: Chevron Over the last decade, some oil and gas majors...[read more]

In TCASE (thinking critically about sustainable energy) #5, I analysed a currently deployed technology for harnessing wave energy – the Pelamis device. If you haven’t read TCASE 5 then please do so now, since it explains some of the basic physical properties of wave energy, the extend of the global resource, etc. In writing the...[read more]

Reuters has a report on South Korean plans to build 520 MW of tidal power generation over the next 4 years - S.Korea to invest $1 billion in tidal power plants. Korea Western Power Corp (WP) will invest a total of 1.22 trillion won ($1.07 billion) to build 20 tidal power plants likely from next year through 2014, the government and...[read more]

Think of electrons as flotsam on a wave as it moves across the surface of the ocean. That's how scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) describe a previously unknown phenomenon, which they are calling "thermopower waves." A thermal wave is a moving pulse of heat that travels along microscopic wires known as...[read more]

The Guardian reports that north sea countries are planning a "vast clean energy project" - Sun, wind and wave-powered: Europe unites to build renewable energy 'supergrid'. It would connect turbines off the wind-lashed north coast of Scotland with Germany's vast arrays of solar panels, and join the power of waves crashing on to the...[read more]

It appears that floating wind turbines are set to become a reality in the near future if the signs of a newly emerging supply chain are anything to go by. The Hywind, a 2.3 megawatt (MW) floating wind turbine made by Siemens, combines technologies from both the wind farm industry and the oil and gas sectors, and was installed in June of...[read more]

Exclusive Coverage of COP15 by Mike Smith for The Energy Collective   At Thursday morning’s plenary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, one South Pacific Island captured the interest of 35 other nations, including china, to return to Kyoto protocols and force compliance. In a true democracy, with each...[read more]

The Times has an article on British efforts to enter the tidal power market in India - British company to help India harness the power of the sea.A small British-based tidal energy company has won a landmark contract to attempt to harness the power of the sea around India for the first time.Atlantis Resources has forged a deal with the...[read more]