Enormous free energy from ocean waves can and should be harnessed, says Texas A&M scientist
DALLAS (March 28, 2011) – The constant motion of our oceans not far offshore is an untapped wealth of energy, says Dr. Hayrettin Bora Karayaka, assistant professor in technology and mechanical engineering at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christy. Karayaka will make his case at the 2011 IEEE Green Technology Conference April 14-15, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where those concerned with renewable energy will meet at the site of the recent oil spill.
“Wave energy can be in two parts,” says Dr. Karayaka, “energy that goes in the lateral direction, or up and down motion horizontal or vertical direction. So what we are trying to harness here is the vertical motion of the wave energy.”
Dr. Karayaka envisions ocean buoys and cylinders in a farm setting that bob with the natural rhythms of the waters. He sees them placed at existing oil platforms and as a hybrid at wind farms.
Karayaka spoke by phone from his office at the university on the ScienceNews Radio Network program, the Promise of Tomorrow with Colonel Mason. The program originates in Dallas, Texas, and is now archived at the website for its world audience.
Also on the program was Dr. Yucheng Liu, an assistant professor in the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, who reports that an area offshore in that state matches almost identically an area in China ideal for wind energy harvesting.
Dr. Liu will also be presenting his concepts to the engineering world at the conference in April, sponsored by the US Department of Energy and Boeing, and produced by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), IEEE-USA, IEEE Region 5, and the IEEE Baton Rouge Section. The public is urged to attend by registering at the website.
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