Hydrokinetics – Wave Energy

Most of what these people claim about their wave energy generation machine may be correct. The part about “low cost,” however, is dead wrong, which is why the world has given up on this and all other forms of hydrokinetics, except the hobbyists who are focusing on niche applications.

Yes, there are a few places on Earth where competitive energy concepts are extremely unwieldy and expensive.  Suppose, for instance, that for some reason you want to live on a small island in northwestern Scotland, with no grid connection, poor solar irradiance, no room for wind, and bad conditions for shipping in diesel.

See castle in the Hebrides below.  As a piece of real estate, this is about as “niche” as it gets, and, if it’s your cup of tea, wave may be your boy.

Interestingly, wave energy itself comes in many different flavors.  I would bet that the land-mounted device shown here offers a more cost-effective approach, certainly easier to maintain, and to tie to the castle’s electrical system.