Wave Energy: an Overview (Oxfordshire Climate Exchange) - 1 views
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Waves are generated by winds blowing over the ocean surface. Wave energy is effectively a stored and concentrated form of solar energy since the winds that produce them are caused by pressure differences in the atmosphere caused by the sun's differential heating of the earth's surface. Waves can efficiently transport energy for thousands of miles and retain their energy long after the winds that first created them have died down, which makes waves one of the most concentrated and consistent sources of renewable energy.
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Globally, the potential use of wave power is, unsurprisingly, limited to areas of the world where there are waves. On a global scale, this is dictated by global wind patterns, with the result that waves are more prevalent in the mid-latitudes (40-60(N/S), than nearer the equator where the lack of ocean wind is referred to as the 'doldrums'. Interestingly, this potential for wave power contrasts with that of solar power, which is more effective in lower latitudes
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it is widely anticipated that other types of renewable resources, including wave energy, will need to be developed in order to meet more challenging targets beyond 2020.
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As with most renewable energy sources, wave devices have no emissions during generation but the energy associated with the construction of the device does have small associated emissions.
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it is essential that the current demonstration schemes are successful, to reassure future investors. The most important objective is to deploy full-size demonstration schemes in order to gain greater confidence in the most developed technologies (as in the EU's Atlas project).