Japan turns the ocean into a source of electricity

Japanese scientists use the turbine to turn the ocean wave into electricity, making the ocean a huge renewable energy source.

Scientists at Okinawa University of Science and Technology (OIST), Japan, successfully exploited the energy of the ocean currents , according to UPI. The team is aiming to harness the energy from the waves. They are preparing to install the turbines in the areas where the largest wave energy.

"If you go around the beaches in Japan, you will see a lot of tetrapods , " said Tsumoru Shintake, a professor at OIST.

Turbines can harness the power of waves. Photo: OIST.

Tetrapod is a pyramid-shaped structure designed to reduce the strength of the waves, protecting the beach from erosion. Shintake wants to replace the tetrapod with a turbine to convert the wave energy into electricity.

"The tetrapods and breakwaters make up about 30% of Japan's coastline. Just using 1% of the coast of Japan, we can generate about 10 gigawatts of electricity, equivalent to 10 nuclear power stations." Shinetake said.

Shinetake and colleagues began designing their turbo-prototype in 2013. They named the technology WEC . The design of the turbines can withstand the high waves generated by typhoons.

The turbo blades are inspired by dolphin fins, but they are quite flexible. The stem or body that the turbine attaches to is very flexible, looks like a flower, capable of bending without breaking. The WEC rises above the surface when the ocean is calm, but it will be submerged in the waves when it rains.

"I imagine 200 years from now , " said Shintake. "I hope these turbines will work quietly, well on every beach they are in."