Can Waves Make Electricity?

By Sarah Ives

National Geographic Kids News

August 05, 2004

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This summer millions of people will head to the beach. And while the ocean can be a great place to swim and play, it may also have another benefit. Some scientists think that waves could help make electricity.

"Have you ever been out on a surfboard or boat and felt yourself being lifted up by a wave? Or have you ... jumped in the water and felt the rush of energy as waves crashed over you?" asked Jamie Taylor of the Wave Energy Group at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. "There is certainly a lot of energy in waves."

Scientists are working to use that energy to make electricity.

Most waves are created when winds blow across the ocean. "The winds start out by making little ripples, but if they keep on blowing, those ripples get bigger and bigger and turn into waves," Taylor said. "Waves are one of nature's ways of picking up energy and then sending it off on a journey."

The ocean can be a great place to surf and swim—and it might also be a source for electricity.
Photograph by Phil Schermeister

When waves come toward shore, people can set up dams or other barricades to block the water and send it through a large wheel called a turbine. The turbine can then power an electrical generator.

The United States and a few other countries have started doing research on wave energy, and wave energy is already used in Scotland.

"The resource is huge," said Janet Swain of the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, D.C. "We will never run out of wave power." Plus, wave energy does not create the same pollution as other energy sources, such as oil or coal.

Oceans cover three-quarters of the Earth's surface—that would make wave power seem ideal for creating energy throughout the world. But there are some drawbacks.

Swain said that wave power still costs too much money. She also said that its effects on marine animals are still unknown. Plus, wave power could interfere with fishing and boat traffic.

With more research, however, "many of these problems might be overcome," Swain said.

Many experts think that finding new energy sources like wave energy is important. Traditional sources of energy like oil and gas may someday run out.

"Demand for energy to power our TVs and computers, drive our cars, [and] heat and cool our homes is rising rapidly throughout the world," Swain said.

In the future when you turn on a light switch, an ocean wave could be providing the electricity!