They look like piano keys dancing on the Pacific, but they are blue floats that rise and go down to the rhythm of the waves in the port of Los Angeles. At first glance, they could go unnoticed, but in reality they hide a promise: transform the inexhaustible force of the sea into clean electricity for thousands of homes.
Short. The company Eco Wave Power He successfully completed The operational evidence of its first pilot project in the United States just a few days ago. The key moment was the descent to the float water, Transmitted live by Good Morning Americaa symbolic gesture that marked the beginning of the operational phase within the Energy Mix of California.
The company has an ambitious plan: it wants to cover with floats the 13 kilometers of the breakwater that protect the port of Los Angeles. This installation could generate electricity for about 60,000 homes, According to Eco Wave Power press release.
More in depth. The system uses eight floats fixed to a concrete dock. At first glance they seem piano keys, but their function is much more complex: with each movement of the waves, the floats act on hydraulic pistons that push a biodegradable fluid through pipes to a unit of energy conversion (ECU) installed on the ground.
Inside, it works almost like a small hydroelectric plant. The accumulated pressure moves a turbine and, with it, electricity is generated. The entire system fits in two 20 -foot maritime containers, which makes it easy to transport, mount and maintain.
The key is in the location. Other projects were launched inside and ended up sunk by the cost of submarine cables and the damage of the storms. Here, however, the floats are anchored in existing port infrastructure. And if you arrive bad weather, they get up as if they were retractable awnings to avoid damage. “When the waves are too high, the floats simply go up until the storm passes, so there is no damage,” The CEO Inna Braverman explained to Techxplore.
But not everything is perfect waves. Undimotriz energy has been promising for decades and fulfilling little. The teams in the open sea suffered constant damage, and the repairs were very expensive. The coastal model of Eco Wave Power seems to solve part of the problem, but it is still an experimental technology. We need to check if you can compete in costs with giants such as solar or wind, today cheaper than ever.
“The Achilles heel of this energy is in the maintenance and inspection costs. Therefore, to have a device near the coast, from where you can walk and review it, it makes a lot in statements collected by Techxplore.
However, we must not forget the current American political context. While the federal government REduce support for green technologiesstates like California continue advancing on their own towards carbon neutrality in 2045. In that pulse, the echo pilot Wave Power works almost as a statement of intentions: although Washington goes in another direction, innovation continues to find holes to emerge.
A symphony of the sea for the future. The official inauguration is scheduled for September 9 in Altema, in the port of Los Angeles, and a new chapter in the state’s energy transition is expected to mark.
For now, the floats continue to move like aquatic piano keys. But if they fulfill their promise, they could compose a different melody: that of a future in which the ocean sway illuminates an entire city.
Image | Eco Wave Power
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