Wave Energy Extraction Device

Here’s a note from clean energy entrepreneur Tom Woodbridge, President of Aqua-Magnetics, a company that’s developing a linear generator that directly converts the motion of wind chop and ocean swells into electric power.

The offshore industry may have interest in a solution like AMI’s generator for powering navigation lights in third-world locations. According to other attendees at the conference, solar panels on buoys get stolen and there is a substantial security expense in trying to keep that from happening. AMI’s linear generator can solve that problem because it is not visible and it is not easily useful to someone for generating electricity on land.

Although the end goal is to develop and build large ocean sized units for generating utility scale electric power, we are starting with smaller units to develop and make advances in the system. AMI’s linear generator is scalable and can be made in any size to match the need at the particular location. For example, a medium sized OSWEP (Ocean Swell & Wave Electric Power) Buoy can provide kilowatts of power for sub-sea communications networks.

Thanks for this, Tom.  I’ve seen things like this in the past, but none that delivers an acceptable LCOE (levelized cost of energy), and I’m afraid that’s what you’re going to run into as well. I know that you intend this for niche application where fairly low levels of power are required, but I’m not sure this is the best way to address them.  Of course, I could be wrong, not that it happens more than about six times a day.  🙂

In any case, please stay in touch.