While covering 71% of the Earth's surface the oceans are the birthplace of life on Earth, and a constant producer of incredible amounts of energy in the form of waves.  Waves are always happening in all of the oceans all over the world, and with the amount of energy built up within one over thousands of miles of winds blowing across the surface they could provide us with large amounts of energy that can be converted into electricity.  The catch however, is that while swells are relatively easy to predict, waves themselves are imperfect and vary in speed, size, and direction. This brings up a challenge for engineers, forcing them to design a device that not only is maximally efficient, but also versatile, sturdy, and have minimal effect on the natural ecosystems.  Wave energy could become a viable source of clean, renewable energy in the near future, pending further research and new design innovations to create the best possible wave energy converter (WEC) that works the most efficiently and costs the least amount to be built and installed. In an era dominated by fossil fuels, finding a new source of energy to power homes that is environmentally clean and never-ending would be a monumental advancement for science, energy, and humans as a whole and if used widely enough harmful fossil fuel usage would decrease. Wave energy is a concept that has been around since the 1970's but has not had full technological resources until recently, which is why soon a breakthrough will come and the business will explode to become a major worldwide source of energy. 

Over 40 years ago a man stood near the sea on the coast of Scotland while contemplating the thought of turning the power of the waves he saw crashing into the shoreline being harnesses to produce electricity.  The force of water is used to create electricity in dams, so this engineer thought about how it could be done with waves.  The engineer's name is Stephen Salter, and he is known as the "grandfather" of wave power. Salter is the man behind what is most likely the first WEC to be used in the ocean all the way back in the 1970's. Salter's prototype, known as the Duck, started off a series of "things which bob around in the ocean and have cute names," as explained by Jamie Taylor, a senior project manager at a company born from Edinburgh University research and funding from Mitsubishi in 2010, called Artemis Intelligent Power. 

These multimillion dollar devices that bob around in the ocean can be seen in many shapes and sizes, all converting the energy in different ways.  Whether that be from an unevenly shaped buoy, a long snake-like connection of tubes, or an underwater hydraulic pump. These and many more devices exist but do not quite reach the full potential of the conversion of wave energy to electricity.  Despite over 40 years of research a the most effective device has yet to be drawn up, leaving wave energy still a step behind other forms of renewable energy such as solar, wind, water, or even tidal energy. The reason for wave energy's lag behind these other forms is due to the variability of waves, the issue is getting the controlled chaos of an ocean wave into a smooth and constant electrical current.  

One of the several companies tied to the wave energy industry is Artemis Intelligent Power, a company out of Scotland. Scotland's western coast provides an excellent location for wave energy research as it has a consistently high amount of wave action due to it lying both where the Gulf Stream ends, a major pivot point for the North Atlantic Gyre (the major rotation of the ocean due to wind direction and the spin of the Earth, and lying at the very end of one of the longest fetches (distance over which winds blow to create waves i.e. longer the distance and higher the wind speed, the higher the waves).  Artemis' specialty is not wave energy but more of a wide range of energy and power solutions in other applications, wave energy is just one single department of the company. While Artemis may not not be a company that specializes in wave energy, the research being done by them still pushes the industry forward just the same.

A name once synonymous with the wave energy industry and its research since 1998 is Pelamis. Pelamis is another Scottish based company and was founded in 1998 and is most well known for it long, snake-like wave energy converters, known as Sea Snakes.  Which is highly ironic because the name Pelamis comes from the Latin name for a species of pelagic (open ocean) sea snake called Pelamis platura. The Pelamis Sea Snakes move both vertically and horizontally with wave motion, allowing it to generate energy from movement in multiple directions, making it more versatile. This three dimensional movement between tube sections moves hydraulic pumps which then create electricity that is transported onshore by submerged wires. Pelamis though which had a staff of 70 people and had spent around $128 million USD over 17 years operating, went out of business in late 2014 when it was unable to lock in enough funding to further research and develop its technology showing one of the downsides of this industry, high cost. 

The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) is the center of wave and tidal energy research for the entire world. Along the Scottish western coast, this center is the first and the only place like it where tests of both wave and tidal energy converters are being done.  This test site is home to some of the world's largest and most constant wave action, as well as comparatively strong tidal currents, an easy connection to the grid of small towns. At the EMEC there are 14 test berths that are grid connected. Here, there are far more WECs in use than anywhere else.  Engineers, oceanographers, and marine scientists come from all over the world to conduct research on some of the designs and prototypes deployed at the EMEC. Also included as part of the EMEC are two scale test facilities, one each for both wave and tidal energy converters. These scale sites are where smaller scale devices or prototypes in early stages of development are researched before further development in conditions less harsh and difficult than the grid connected sites.  Despite EMEC being the leading wave energy test facility in the world, this does not mean that all others are irrelevant.

In the Pacific Northwest lies another hub of wave energy research. The Northwest National Marine Energy Center (NNMEC) operates in three states with the support of two different universities. The full scale testing of WECs the NNMEC uses their North Energy Test Site and are developing a second site called the South Energy Test Site which will be grid connected, unlike the North Energy Test Site. Both the North and South Energy Test Sites are off the coast of Oregon. Also in Oregon is the Wallace Energy Systems and Renewable Facility which is the home of the Wave Energy Linear Test Bed which uses captured wave profiles and simulating their force. Also there are two wave tanks in the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory which are for testing scaled WECs. For the testing of intermediate scale devices, the University of Washington assists with testing in Lake Washington and the Puget Sound. These areas provide for 1/7th scale WEC testing as compared to the Pacific open ocean conditions. The Aeronautical Laboratory at the University of Washington has a wave and wind channel that makes for ideal testing of scale WECs and the systems by which they are moored. In Alaska, the Alaska Hydrokinetic Energy Research Center has a test site on the Tanana River where many hydrokinetic power devices are tested. The Pacific Northwest serves as a hot spot for a variety of wave energy testing but it is not the only testing in America.

Off the coast of Hawaii, the US Navy has a wave energy test site at the Marine Corps Base. Despite the nearly opposite climate, wave energy research is still conducted here as it is at the EMEC.  A company called Northwest Energy Innovations (NWEI) conducts their research at this facility where they are testing and developing the Azura, a newly designed WEC. The Azura is state of the art in that it absorbs the force and motion of waves in any direction. It produces power from the motion of a float in the waves relative to a sturdy hull. The float has the capability to spin a full 360 as well as swing back and forth. Using these abilities, it allows the Azura to convert a maximum amount of wave energy in many different wave conditions vastly improving the efficiency of the entire device. The Azura prototype has been working smoothly and efficiently since May 2015 at the US Navy's wave energy test site and tests will continue until May 2016.

The wave energy could become a massive industry financially both nationally and internationally. The young age of wave energy as a whole, especially considering most companies dedicated solely to wave energy are often less than ten years old, contributes to the lack of interest from the business side of this industry.  It is currently still in research phase, behind other forms of renewable energy like wind or solar which already have set designs for maximum efficiency. This is due to the stability and consistency of where the energy comes from. The ocean and its waves are not as simple as wind blowing or sun shining.  The ocean rises, falls, heaves, pitches, and rolls. Since the ocean has such variability the search for an effective design for a WEC is very challenging.  These challenges do not draw the interest of venture capitalists because the returns are not guaranteed yet. Once a design is created which converts the most amount of energy, with the maximum soundness, for the least possible price, then the industry will explode similar to wind and solar power. For now, price of use and development is the only restraint holding back this industry.

The main issue with wave energy as a viable source of renewable energy for entire world is cost. It costs large amount of money to install, operate and manage, and foundation and mooring. It is predicted that overall costs will drop seventy percent by 2030 because of learning rate and further development as well as economic rates and scale. The projected average cost for wave produced energy is near $170-200/MWh. (IRENA). This cost may appear high but as compared to average cost for solar photovoltaic cell produced energy is $100-200/MWh. With development the problem of cost for the industry of wave energy will be much less of an issue.  The cost of wave energy has also been compared to wind energy at around 4.5 cents/kWh (Ocean Energy Council). Even though the cost may be slightly high when in relation to other sources of energy, the constancy of ocean waves is more than any other form of renewable energy. The cost of wave energy has also been compared to wind energy at around 4.5 cents/kWh (Ocean Energy Council). Waves are 24/7, 365 days a year.  They occur with variation in size but nonetheless are an always available source for energy.

With cost being the major downside to the wave power industry, there are a few other disadvantages wave energy provides.  WECs can only be installed in locations with wave action, depth, and space that fits what is required for the device to operate at maximum efficiency.  Although wave energy produces no emissions there are negative environmental effects. One is the disturbance created on the seafloor by mooring and foundations, these affect the lives of bottom dwelling organisms like crabs, sea stars, and urchins by destroying their habitats. Also noise from the mechanical parts of WECs make noise that may scare away fish or other sea life nearby. Toxic chemical leakage in the case of destruction of a WEC is also a very serious problem that could arise. WEC sites could also disturb ships and shipping routes because of their need to be nearby to cities, which have shipping lanes and commercial boat usage in large quantities. WECs also are a source of both noise and visual pollution due to their size and the way in which they operate with a large amount of movement. Downsides of wave energy are evident, but they are manageable. 

Obviously the greatest positive aspect of wave energy is the fact that it is renewable. Ocean waves are always happening all over the world. Whether that be in the form of 8 foot beautiful curlers on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, massive 50 foot walls of water crashing over rocks at Mavericks near Half Moon Bay, California, or small waves that are little more than ripples. Wave energy is environmentally friendly, it does not produce any harmful gases, wastes, or other pollutants. The energy conversion process directly changes the kinetic energy of the ocean into electrical energy that could turn on a light bulb. In the world in which we live today, sources of energy that create no harmful byproducts are in high demand, and given time wave energy will become a huge contender in the renewable energy industry due to this demand.  A large number of big cities are on or near the coast, making wave energy available if wave action is sufficient enough.  Another benefit is that it would make countries less dependent on foreign oil. Also, there is no damage to the land on Earth.  Wave energy has benefits that outweigh the downsides. 

Tidal energy is another form of marine energy.  It comes from the fluctuations in sea level due to the pull of the Moon and Sun's gravities. These changes in water level are held by levees, which are then released allowing the water to reach its normal height after passing through channels with turbines that spin to create electricity. Another form is multiple fans on the ocean floor spinning with the movement of the current. Tidal energy is useful because the tides are constant and predictable, and it is known where on Earth the tides have the highest velocity or highest water displacement. Tidal energy is most effective in narrow channels where large quantities of water are funneled. The use for tidal energy is not as widely usable as wave energy but still cold contribute energy in certain areas.

Our society today is addicted to harmful fossil fuels and is destroying the Earth with the usage of them. The demand for a new form of renewable energy has never been higher, and marine energy is a whole untapped resource for energy production. Wave and tidal energy are extremely viable energy sources for the world and have many positive aspects that with time and research will outweigh the negative aspects, primarily the cost issue. Life on Earth began in the ocean, and now the ocean and the energy it provides could be a large part in stopping the destruction of the Earth and environment.

