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Sometimes a Great Ocean
Not all great innovations start out great. Most true innovations are disruptive and require much negotiation, accommodation and paradigm shifting before acceptance. Some innovations need time to evolve into a more practical form.
The first time I heard the term “wave power” was 25 years ago in 
the Pacific Sun, a weekly Marin County, California newspaper. Wave power was explained in elegantly simple drawings and models. The principle just made sense. Waves go up and down. The pressure of the water could lift the floor of a large bellows, forcing air through a turbine to produce electricity.
Like many great ideas, practicality was not quite there. Investors apparently didn’t support it. Power companies figured other sources were cheaper (like nuclear, another math mystery). So, the wave power idea faded into the newsprint recycling pile. But, great ideas are hard to kill. And, in the U.K. it has recently gained much more support. npower is one company currently exploring multiple tidal generation innovations, including tidal turbines, floating and shore-based structures to capitalize on the ocean.
There are a number of exceptional advantages to tidal energy generation. Most obvious is the size of the ocean. It covers 80% of the planet -- the earth’s largest single resource. Tidal power generation won’t deplete it, pollute it or compromise any of its life forms to produce electricity. There is no transportation cost to bring the fuel to the generation site. There are absolutely no CO2 or other harmful greenhouse gases produced. There is no disposal cost to transport hide and protect spent fuel rods. No terrorist risks with bomb grade byproducts. No decommissioning costs. (According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, nuclear power plants are dismantled after 40 years at a cost of about $300 million each.)
Construction and operational costs for projects like the npower tidal turbine project are being determined through a feasibility study currently in progress. The government of the U.K. has a target to supply 10% of its electricity from renewables by 2010, and 15% 2015.
According to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), electricity demand is outpacing supply in the United States. The expected 2010 demand increase for U.S. electricity is in the 30 to 35% range. Clearly new energy sources must be developed with minimal resource impact. Considering the size and proximity of the ocean as an unlimited source of renewable power, how can we ignore it any longer? If there is a U.S. equivalent to npower, someone please point me to it!
Chas Martin
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