Making Waves, Making Energy

If you sit at the edge of Pacific or Atlantic Ocean and watch as waves ferociously slap the sands, you can’t help but recognize the awesome power of the ocean. As you sit there watching, do you ever think, “it sure would be great if we could tap that energy!” Well, it turns out we can. This week on Sea Change Radio, we are talking about wave energy – the processes, both scientific and political, by which wave motion is converted into electricity. Host Alex Wise begins by talking with George Taylor, a pioneer in wave energy capture who tells us about the progress his company, Ocean Power Technologies, has made to propagate buoy-based ocean power across the globe. Next, Wise talks with Ali Baghei, CEO of another wave energy company called OceanLinx – he tells us how oscillating water column technology works to capture wave energy. Finally, we hear from Todd Woody, environmental editor for Forbes, who has covered the successes and challenges associated with this innovation of seemingly infinite sustainability.