The most recent issue of the Economist takes a brief but interesting look at the resurgence of wave power development in recent years (see The Coming Wave, June 5th). As the article says, wave power is still in its infancy. However, the magazine is able to identify a number of companies that are on the cusp of deploying commercial systems. Going a step further, U.K's Pelamis Wave Power Ltd., already has a commercial multi-unit wave farm in place off the coast of Portugal, although, the company's website describes it as being in the commissioning phase.
While the Economist identifies five companies currently pursuing commercial development of wave power, only two are publicly listed, including:
In December 2007, this Vancouver based company signed an agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric to begin installing its Aquabouy generators in a wave farm off the California coast by 2012.
The company has been conducting ocean trials off the coast of New Jersey since 1997 and is in a joint venture with Iberdrola SA to establish a 1.39 MW wave farm off the northern coast of Spain.
The companies that are profiled appear to be taking a variety of approaches to developing commercially viable technologies. (Wikipedia gives a good overview of the science behind wave power.)
As the article points out, the ideas for wave power have been around for decades but the public policy support and economic environment has been lacking. However ....
"But at last there are signs of change. Big utilities are taking the technology seriously, and are teaming up with wave-energy companies. Venture-capitalists are piling in too, as they look for new opportunities. Several wave-energy companies are thought to be planning stockmarket flotations in the coming months."
Among the private companies examined, those "piling in" look to be the A-list of renewable energy investors, including the likes of Blackrock Investment Managers, 3i, Carbon Trust, Norsk Hydro Technology Ventures and Sigma Capital, among many others.
Enjoy!