January 31, 2017

Can We Power the World with Waves? [Podcast]

In a new episode of the BBC World Service’s podcast “CrowdScience,” listener Michael in Kingston, Jamaica, asks the question, “Why can’t we use energy from the waves of the sea to create all the electricity we need?”

By Melissa C. Lott

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

In a new episode of the BBC World Service’s podcast “CrowdScience”, listener Michael in Kingston, Jamaica asks the question “why can’t we use energy from the waves of the sea to create all the electricity we need?”

In order to answer the question, Greg and Jen with the BBC World Service traveled to Cornwall in the west of England to visit one of the world’s leading wave energy test locations and discuss this question with local scientists. In their podcast, Greg and Jen discuss how we produce electricity today and the "practicalities and potential" of wave energy.

According to their investigation and discussions with researchers including Ocean Engineering Professor Deborah Greaves from Plymouth University in the United Kingdom, wave energy has more potential than other forms of marine energy (e.g. tidal power). But, the technology is not as advanced and costs are currently too high to be broadly competitive.

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To hear more about what researchers are doing to better understand the potential of wave energy to provide the world's electricity demand, one can listen to the entire podcast (for free) here.

And, for those who missed them – check out these previous podcasts by CrowdScience on:

Happy listening!

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