The United States receives 2,100 terawatt-hours of incident wave energy along its coastlines each year, and tapping just one quarter of this potential could produce as much energy as the entire U.S. hydropower system

The Unit

At a wave power station, the waves arriving cause the water in the chamber to rise and fall, which means that air is forced in and out of the hole in the top of the chamber. We place a turbine in this hole, which is turned by the air rushing in and out. The turbine turns a generator. A problem with this design is that the rushing air can be very noisy, unless a silencer is fitted to the turbine. The noise is not a huge problem anyway, as the waves make quite a bit of noise themselves.

Wave and tidal energy harvesting has been around for a few decades.

Wave and tidal energy harvesting has been around for a few decades

The winds cause waves on the surface of the ocean (and on lakes). The wind transfers some of its energy to the water, through friction between the air molecules and the water molecules. Stronger winds (like storm surges) cause larger waves.