Does Wave Energy Have Potential?

The first commercially licensed grid-connected wave-energy device in the United States, designed by the New Jersey-based Ocean Power Technologies, is in its final weeks of testing before a planned launch in October. The computer-equipped buoy captures the energy created by a wave, which is fueled by the wind as it travels. Wave energy is expensive, however, and waves themselves are inconsistent. Some fishing industry lobbyists also worry that an increase in wave energy will impact ecology in surrounding areas. Others see potential and think of wave energy as just an accumulation of wind energy.