Editing Wave power (section)

{{short description|Transport of energy by wind waves, and the capture of that energy to do useful work}}
{{about|transport and capture of energy in ocean waves|other aspects of waves in the ocean|Wind wave|other uses of wave or waves|Wave (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}{{Renewable energy sources}}
{{Sustainable energy}}'''Wave power''' is the capture of energy of [[wind wave]]s to do useful [[mechanical work|work]] – for example, [[electricity generation]], [[desalination]], or [[pump]]ing water. A machine that exploits wave [[power (physics)|power]] is a '''wave energy converter''' ('''WEC''').

Waves are generated primarily by wind passing over the sea's surface and also by tidal forces, temperature variations, and other factors. As long as the waves propagate slower than the wind speed just above, energy is transferred from the wind to the waves. Air pressure differences between the windward and leeward sides of a wave [[crest (physics)|crest]] and surface friction from the wind cause [[shear stress]] and wave growth.<ref name="Phillips">{{cite book |last=Phillips |first=O.M. |title=The dynamics of the upper ocean |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1977 |isbn=978-0-521-29801-8 |edition=2nd |author-link=Owen Martin Phillips}}</ref>

Wave power as a descriptive term is different from [[tidal power]], which seeks to primarily capture the energy of the current caused by the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon. However, wave power and tidal power are not fundamentally distinct and have significant cross-over in technology and implementation.  Other forces can create [[ocean currents|currents]], including [[wave breaking|breaking waves]], [[wind]], the [[Coriolis effect]], [[cabbeling]], and [[temperature]] and [[salinity]] differences.

As of 2023, wave power is not widely employed for commercial applications, after a long series of trial projects. Attempts to use this energy began in 1890 or earlier,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.outsidelands.org/wave-tidal3.php|title=Wave and Tidal Energy Experiments in San Francisco and Santa Cruz|author=Christine Miller|access-date=August 16, 2008|date=August 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002203245/http://www.outsidelands.org/wave-tidal3.php|archive-date=October 2, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> mainly due to its high [[power density]].  Just below the ocean's water surface the wave energy flow, in time-average, is typically five times denser than the wind energy flow 20 m above the sea surface, and 10 to 30 times denser than the solar energy flow.<ref name="Falnes1999">{{cite web |date=June 1, 1999 |title=Wave energy and its utilization |url=https://www.slideshare.net/JrgenHalsTodalshaug/wave-energy-and-its-utilization-257609652 |website=Slideshare |access-date=April 28, 2023}}</ref>

In 2000 the world's first commercial wave power device, the [[Islay LIMPET]] was installed on the coast of [[Islay]] in Scotland and connected to the [[National Grid (Great Britain)|UK national grid]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.edie.net/news/0/Worlds-first-commercial-wave-power-station-activated-in-Scotland/3492/ | title=World's first commercial wave power station activated in Scotland | access-date=June 5, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805172514/https://www.edie.net/news/0/Worlds-first-commercial-wave-power-station-activated-in-Scotland/3492/ | archive-date=August 5, 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref> In 2008, the first experimental multi-generator [[wave farm]] was opened in Portugal at the [[Aguçadoura Wave Farm]].<ref>Joao Lima. [https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=21070001&sid=aSsaOB9qbiKE Babcock, EDP and Efacec to Collaborate on Wave Energy projects] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924065943/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=21070001&sid=aSsaOB9qbiKE |date=September 24, 2015 }} ''Bloomberg'', September 23, 2008.</ref> Both projects have since ended. For a list of other wave power stations see [[List of wave power stations]].

Wave energy converters can be classified based on their working principle as either:<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Falcão |first=António F. de O. |date=2010-04-01 |title=Wave energy utilization: A review of the technologies |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032109002652 |journal=Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews |language=en |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=899–918 |doi=10.1016/j.rser.2009.11.003 |bibcode=2010RSERv..14..899F |issn=1364-0321|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Madan |first1=D. |date=2020-10-21 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4739-3_91 |pages=1057–1072 |place=Singapore |publisher=Springer Singapore |isbn=978-981-15-4738-6 |access-date=2022-06-02 |last2=Rathnakumar |first2=P. |last3=Marichamy |first3=S. |last4=Ganesan |first4=P. |last5=Vinothbabu |first5=K. |last6=Stalin |first6=B.|title=Advances in Industrial Automation and Smart Manufacturing |chapter=A Technological Assessment of the Ocean Wave Energy Converters |series=Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering |doi=10.1007/978-981-15-4739-3_91 |s2cid=226322561 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

* oscillating water columns (with air turbine)
* oscillating bodies (with hydroelectric motor, hydraulic turbine, linear electrical generator)
* overtopping devices (with low-head hydraulic turbine)
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