Could B.C. be running on wave energy in the future?
A new report released at an energy conference at UVic today says there's enough information about the height, frequency and direction of our coastal waves to start developing and testing wave energy converters in the ocean.
Bryson Robertson, the report's lead-author and UVic's West Coast Wave Initiative program manager, told the conference it's common knowledge BC has one of the most energetic wave environments in the world but designing a device to extract usable electricity from wave motion requires detailed information about wave characteristics ... and now they have it.
Robertson says waves arriving on BC shores are the result of storms occurring across the vast Pacific Ocean, making waves a highly predictable resource for power.
He says a computer model of the BC coastline revealed several "sweet spot" locations for wave energy as well as uncovering seasonal timing, whereby the biggest, most energetic waves occur in winter -- coinciding with times when energy demand is highest.
Robertson says now that the team has built a database of conditions, it's time to take things to the next level.