What's the best way to harness?wave energy? Australian company BioPower Systems asked?nature for the answer, and came up with?bioWAVE ? a system that harnesses wave power by imitating the movement of kelp.
Kelp are large seaweeds that grow vertically from the ocean floor, and constantly sway in the water. The bioWAVE system is designed to mimic these plants with its floats that keep the structure upright, and a pivot near the bottom that makes back-and-forth motion possible. This movement is then used to spin an onboard generator that produces electricity delivered to shore by a cable.
One of the good things about bioWAVE is that it's designed to survive even extremely powerful waves. In case a?tsunami or a typhoon arrives, the floats are flooded so the structure falls flat on the ocean floor, protecting it from destruction.
The company recently received a $5.1 million funding from the Australian government that will be applied toward its $14 million, 250 kilowatt pilot demonstration unit currently being built on one of the country's coasts. If successful, BioPower hopes to build a commercial scale wave farm that can offer consumers competitively-priced electricity.
[via?Gizmodo]
This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca
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