![]() ![]() As the wave retreats, the air is drawn back through the turbine as a result of the reduced air pressure on the ocean side of the turbine. This alternately compresses and depressurizes the air column. As waves enter the air column, they cause the water column to rise and fall. It encloses a column of air above a column of water. Oscillating Water Columns: Oscillating water columns consist of a partially submerged concrete or steel structure that has an opening to the sea below the waterline.The US Department of Energy has a nice description of different types of surface wave projects as follows: Surface wave energy technologies capture the kinetic energy in breaking waves – these provide periodic impulses that spin a turbine. Wave energy projects extract energy from waves on the surface of the water, or from wave motion a bit deeper (a few 10s of meters) in the ocean. ![]() Both refer to the extraction of kinetic energy from the ocean to generate electricity (again, by spinning a turbine just as hydroelectric dams or wind farms do), but the locations of each and the mechanisms that they use for generating power are slightly different. In terms of power generation technologies, wave and tidal power have both similarities and differences. Tides, related to the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun on the oceans, are like very long-wavelength waves that can produce very strong currents in some coastal areas due to the geometry of the shoreline. Waves, driven by the winds, make the water oscillate in roughly circular orbits extending to a depth of one half of the wavelength of the wave (distance between peaks). Water in the oceans is constantly in motion due to waves and tides, and energy can be harvested from these kinds of motions. ![]()
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