Ocean waves exert a tremendous amount of power. In fact, waves have the highest energy density of renewable energy sources, compared to others like wind, solar, biomass and geothermal. This means that waves can be an important contributor to the world’s “energy mix resilience.”
Wave energy is a plentiful, renewable energy source.
While variable, wave energy is reliable, as waves are almost always in motion.
Wave energy is emission-free.
If managed carefully, wave energy can be captured in a way that minimises disruption to the natural environment.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) puts the potential annual global production at 29,500 TWh. This is almost ten times Europe’s annual electricity consumption of 3,000 TWh.
Many countries – including Australia, China, Denmark, Italy, Korea, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the USA – are currently developing wave energy.
“Wave energy is at full-scale stage now and projects like WEDUSEA are paving the way for pilot farms and sector-wide industrialisation. As an EU-UK collaboration project, it will demonstrate the potential for wave energy to make a significant contribution to the EU Green Deal target. Wave energy will help smooth production peaks or dips from variable wind and ensure European energy independence.”
Rémi Gruet, CEO of the trade association Ocean Energy Europe
