Wave power tipped as 'holy grail' for Australia - AFP

[Eugene]

Source: Agence France-Presse

Wave power tipped as 'holy grail' for Australia

2 hours, 12 minutes ago

SYDNEY (AFP) - New technology harnessing wave energy could
be the "holy grail" for providing electricity and drinking water
to Australia's major cities, Industry Minister Ian MacFarlane said
Thursday.

The technology, developed with the help of more than 770 million
dollars (636 million US) in seed funding from the government, works
through fields of submerged buoys tethered to seabed pumps.

The buoys move in harmony with the motion of the passing waves,
pumping pressurised seawater to shore to run turbines and pass
through a desalination plant.

"The constancy of the waves even when the surface is dead calm
means that you can build a base load renewable energy power
station and that is really the holy grail for us, if you can produce
renewable energy 24/7," Macfarlane told the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070517/sc_afp/australiaenergyenvironmentwaves_070517063846

[soothsayer]

1. they should use it to power de-salinization plants and then they won't

have their big fat drought anymore. Ok, they'll need to do alot of other stuff to get the water to the places it's needed, but it's a good project and beats dyiing.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. I was thinking the same thing. n/t

.

[philb]

3. FSEC paper says enough energy in Florida Gulf Stream for power for all U.S.

at price less than current options.

Of course distributing it to N.Dakota might be a bit of a problem.

commercial and pilot ocean power plants currently going in at many locations in U.S.