Electricity from Ocean Wave Energy: Technologies, Opportunities and Challenges

The energy from ocean waves is a largely untapped resource that could play an important role in our electricity future. It is more consistent and predictable than that of other renewable resources such as wind and solar. Although several pilot projects have been successfully deployed worldwide, and some of them are grid-connected, the economic production of electric power from wave energy remains to be demonstrated. A key path forward will be the integration of smart technologies that harness vast amounts of sensor and meteorological data to support wave farm operations.