SAN DIEGO, California - Oregon's spectacular coastline could become the United States' center for wave energy development in coming years, with plans underway to install power buoys in locations with enough potential to meet the state's future energy needs. Electrical engineers at Oregon State University are developing electricity-generating buoys they believe will be a key component for clean, green wave power. Their objective is to convert the Pacific Ocean's heavy rolling swell into a renewable energy resource., relying on buoys to harness the near constant rise and fall of waves to produce electricity. "Waves generate energy through motion," said Dr. Annette von Jouanne, an electrical engineering professor at Oregon State University (OSU). (more...)

email2friend