With its abundant sunshine, long coast, world-renowned higher education system, high tech industries and environmentally conscious politics, California is an ideal breeding ground for alternative forms of energy.
Less than a decade ago, California led the world generating electricity from windmills, in part because the industry was subsidized. While wind energy is still struggling to overcome its growing pains, scientists and developers are now turning to wave energy.
It’s estimated that the world’s coastlines could generate up to 3 million megawatts of electricity annually. Just how much it would cost to generate the energy, though, is still being “worked out.”
Charting Progress
Number of U.S. patent applications for wave power devices filed from 1955 to 2005: 1,000
Number of wave power installations in operation in the U.S.: 0
- California Small Hydropower and Ocean Wave Energy Resources, page 22, California Energy Commission (.PDF)
- California Wind Resources, U.S. Department of Energy
- Repowering California Wind Power Plants, Comments by the American Wind Energy Association on Repowering California’s Wind Industry for the California Energy Commission’s 1994 Biennial Report
- Wave Energy Potential Warrants Further Research and Development, Says EPRI, press release, The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
- Wave energy hits USA, The Network for Alternative Technology and Technology Assessment