Will ocean energy replace fossil fuels?

New projects seeking ways to use the ocean's thermal energy, tidal power and wave action are under way from Maine to Oregon to Hawaii in the United States and Europe. Ocean power is still in its infancy, but some commercial projects on a small scale are being implemented.

A variety of technologies are being researched and tested.

Ocean thermal power plants, which generate electricity from the temperature difference between the tropics' warm surface water and deep cold water, could be built on land in several hundred areas around the globe's equatorial zones and also could be constructed as floating plants.

The idea is that hydrogen from ocean water could be produced in such scale that it is the only enegy source large enough to replace fossil fuels in our future.

A recent study by Electric Power Research Institute has indicated good locations in California, as well as Maine, Alaska and Washington,for tidal power generation.

To learn more about ocean power's potential, check out the full article "Interest in ocean power resurges" in The Honolulu Advertiser

And "Ocean Energy Basics" from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory gives a great overview of ocean sourcing for energy.



Energy Information Administration:

National Renewable Energy Laboratory:

Electric Power Research Institute on ocean energy:

OCEES International Inc.:

Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority:

Ocean Power Technologies: