After solar and wind power, waves will be used to generate electricity

After successfully using solar panels and wind turbines to generate electricity, scientists have figured out the next best source of producing power for the world through ocean waves.

Scientists have created a huge, yellow, doughnut-shaped device called ‘The Lifesaver’, which floats with the motion of the ocean. The device, which is full of gears, cables and electronics, is actually a wave energy converter.

According to the manager of the device tester, Hawaii National Marine Renewable Energy Center, Luis Vega, wave energy converters are more promising and emerging as compared to the other mature renewable energy sources such as wind or solar.

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He believes that ‘if wind energy has a graduate degree, wave energy is still in the first grade’. However, Vega is confident that if wave energy converters prove to be successful, it can be a source to power millions of houses in coming decades, reported NBC News Mach.

The Lifesaver has an onboard electrical generator that is moved by the up and down motion of the cables that extend from the device’s bottom to the ocean floor. However, wave power eventually harnesses energy coming from the sun. The solar radiation generates air pressure gradients that cause wind, and the wind further provides its energy to the ocean surface, which in turn produces the waves. “Wave power is a very dense form of solar power,” explains wave energy researcher, Reza Alam.

The plus point of wave energy is that waves are easy to predict and can be harnessed 24/7 as compared to the solar energy that is only available in daylight hours. Thus, looking at the great potential of this form of energy, The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has started to invest greatly in it, reported Futurism.