If you are not familiar with wave energy and you don’t know anything about it, then we suggest that you stay here to learn about what it actually is. We will talk about what is wave energy as well as what are some of the biggest advantages and disadvantages of using it. Wave energy as you can guess from the name is a renewable source of energy that is produced by waves. Why did people started using this as a source of energy you might ask, and the answer cannot be clearer, we need renewable energy sources. Waves in the oceans are providing an endless supply of this energy and that’s why people got interested. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this energy source that we think are very important from the educational purpose because you can learn so much from these.
ADVANTAGES
Renewable
As we mentioned this a couple of times before wave energy is a renewable source of energy, which means that we will never run out of it. Waves are just a part of our world and they will be always crashing on the shores. Unlike some fuels, we cannot run out of waves and that’s why it is considered to be a renewable energy source, just like the sun or wind.
Environment-Friendly
The most important thing that makes these renewable energy sources so popular is the fact that they are all environment-friendly. This means that they are not polluting the air or the water, we are just simply using the power of waves to produce energy as simple as that. The most difficult part to find these days is an energy source that is clean.
Widely Available
Of course, we cannot compare wave energy to solar energy, but we can say that it is widely available because around 71% of the earth surface is covered by water. Of course, not every place is suitable for such energy harvest, but in places where big waves are a common thing, we can easily gather some power.
DISADVANTAGES
Effect on Marine Ecosystem
We have said before that this is an environmentally friendly energy source, and that is true, but there are still some effects that are targeting the marine ecosystem. Those machines can actually disturb the seafloor by creating some noise that is not good for the life around them.
Wavelength
In most cases, waves can be predicted, and people can know when the big waves will hit, but there are still some places where this is impossible and that creates a problem for these wave machines. This means that these places cannot be called a reliable energy source and that is very important for us to have a source of energy that we can rely on continually.
We hope that you found this article to be very educational about wave energy. If you are interested in learning more about some other renewable sources of energy such as solar or wind, make sure to check out some of the other articles.