A wave turbine is a turbine electric generator that uses the air pushing in and out from the waves of the water to create electricity.
At a wave power station, the waves arriving cause the water in the chamber to rise and fall, which means that air is forced in and out of the hole in the top of the chamber.
We place a turbine in this hole, which is turned by the air rushing in and out.
The turbine turns a generator.
As the waves enter and exit the chamber, the water column moves up and down and acts like a piston on the air above the surface of the water, pushing it back and forth.
This air is compressed and decompressed by this movement and is channeled through a wind turbine generator to produce electricity.
In short, ocean waves will move a WEC and that motion drives a generator that creates electricity.
How machines take this motion of low-speed ocean waves with high energy content and convert them into the high-speed motion required for generators is not fully understood.
Wave energy (or wave power) is the transport and capture of energy by ocean surface waves.
The energy captured is then used for all different kinds of useful work, including electricity generation, water desalination, and pumping of water.
Waves are most commonly caused by wind.
Wind-driven waves, or surface waves, are created by the friction between wind and surface water.
As wind blows across the surface of the ocean or a lake, the continual disturbance creates a wave crest.
Wave turbines use green energy and friendly to the environment - producing power from waves creates no gas, waste, pollution or any harmful byproducts.
It's as predictable as clockwork - as our weather can be forecast, it's possible to calculate the amount of energy waves will produce in advance.