Production of electric wave under the wave under the sea

For the past five years, Professor Peza Alam and a team of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have successfully researched how to create a mechanical wave carpet beneath the seafloor to produce electricity. This is a natural energy collector of the ocean, which, in theory, is 100% effective against 10-20% of solar energy.

According to Peza Alam, on average, every square meter of the Earth's surface receives only 300-400wat of solar radiation, while waves on an area equivalent to that of California, USA, can produce 45 kilowatts quantity. He explained that if he wanted to produce that amount of energy he needed 150 square meters of solar cells. Just 10 meters of California coast also produces the equivalent of one yard wide solar panels.

The team designed a 2m test tank and successfully experimented with a rubber mat. In fact, ocean waves run in many directions and rubber can get torn. So, scientists have to design a 3m tank and replace the rubber with silicon or composite materials.

Alam was not the first scientist to dream of harnessing the power of ocean waves. Unlike other wave power plants, his equipment has a number of advantages. The device is not floating on the surface of the sea but under water.

First , the ships are still operating normally without being interrupted.

Second , when storms do not need to stop.

When storms, wind turbines and factories float on the sea surface, they can be destroyed, while the carpet remains safe. Professor Alam's team will install a real carpet in the ocean in 2016 with the hope that within 10 years, the price of electricity generated by carpet production can compete with current prices in the United States, nearly 10 cents one kilowatt hour.