Green Mountain Energy

The Green Way to Catch a Wave

Green mountain energy promotes the use of inexhaustible energy sources, like wave power, to generate electricity.

Wave Power

Wave Parks that utilize PowerBuoy technology are one method to harness wave energy. This method uses the rise and fall of waves to move a hydraulic buoy, which spins a generator and produces electricity that is then send to shore using an underwater transmission line. They are designed to be installed five miles offshore at a depth of 100-200 feet.

The biomimic system known as BioWave imitates the swaying motion of sea plants in waves in order to harness energy. It does this by using the hydrodynamic interaction of buoyant blades (resembling a sort of metal plant) with a circular motioned flow field. Interestingly, during harsh underwater conditions the system automatically stops operating and lies flat against the seabed, in order to prevent damage.

A device being used in Australia, CETO, has a single piston pump that is attached to the seabed, with a float tethered to it. When the waves rise and fall so do the floats, generating pressurized water. This water is piped to an onshore site where it can run a hydraulic generator or other device.

Project FLOW (Future Lives in Ocean Waves) is a system that is currently in the last stages of developmental trials. The completing of the attenuator (electrical condenser) and offshore devise for this wave energy conversion generator is being anxiously awaited by the green energy community.

A wave energy conversion system called AWEC (Anaconda Wave Energy Converter) is a long rubber tube that is tethered underwater. When waves pass over and around the tube, they start a wave inside that continues down its length until it reaches the turbine at the other end of the tube that drives a generator.

These are just a few ways to harness wave power that make green mountain energy a feasible option for more people throughout the world.