BIOWAVE: Power Generated from the Ocean
Using biomimmicry (designs based on natural systems), an Australian firm BioPower Systems has developed Biowave: an ocean power system that harnesses energy by using the motion of water to generate electricity. The system mimics the oscillating motion of plants at the bottom of the sea caused by currents and wave energy.
Connected together by a “root”, a system looking like three balloons generates electricity by swaying in the tide. In case of strong wave action or currents, the device would simply lay flat on the ocean floor until the surge passes.
BioPower Systems is currently in prototype phase and is being tested off the coast of Tasmania. This test will inform the company on how a large scale system would be best implemented. In an era where most sustainable energy talk is centered around solar and wind power, ocean power is starting to make big waves.
This is a very interesting idea. I wonder - will this negatively impact the ocean ecosystem at all?