Harnessing Magnetostriction

摘要

Wave energy has the potential to meet nearly 10% of global electricity demand (approximately 2,000 TWh/year). Unlike wind or solar energy, wave energy can be forecasted several days in advance and is located close to coastal areas with growing demand. Inventors and organizations around the world have tried to turn this low-frequency, low-amplitude resource into utility-scale electricity for decades. These attempts have universally used power generation technologies with moving parts, resulting in high operating and maintenance costs, as well as low efficiency and the need for large amounts of structural mass, which together drive up capital cost. The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for wave energy has been estimated to be between 25 and 60 cents/kWh, many times higher than that from conventional sources.