Coping With the Obstacles in Harvesting the Energy of Sea Waves

This paper discusses the major obstacles in harvesting the energy of sea waves. These natural phenomena offer a huge source of pollution-free energy. The energy from this source might be capable of replacing all the energy presently supplied by the existing fossil burning plants. This means, that the harvest from this source of energy is capable of drastically reducing the amount of polluting gases which are presently being emitted into the atmosphere. In addition to the above, this source does not pose such colossal potential dangers to humans, as the use of nuclear energy. Nor does it cause the often so unpleasant noise pollution generated by wind farms. However, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this source of energy still remains unexploited. This paper discusses five of the major obstacles which, till now, have prevented this objective from becoming a reality. These are: a. The random nature of the variations in the occurrence and the intensity of the sea waves, makes the supply of energy from that source very irregular and unreliable. b. The corrosive activity of the sea water and of secretions from certain forms of sea life, creates a need of frequent replacements of the wetted parts, respectively the need to make them of exotic and often very expensive materials. c. The blocking, clogging and jamming of the equipment by seaweeds and other matter which is being carried by the waves, may cause frequent interruptions in the operations of the power plant and extra expenses on cleaning the affected parts of the equipment. d. The destructive nature of the sea waves, like the abrasion of parts by particles of sand which are carried by the waves, or the impact of floating logs of fallen trees etc. may require frequent shutdowns of the plant and costly repairs. e. The economic aspects of such a power plant. The cost of constructing and of running such a plant has to be adequately low. To allow an affordable supply of power. This paper present the outline of a design, which is capable of reducing the severity of all the obstacles listed above, to tolerable limits.