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Wave And Tidal Energy : A New Viable Potential Form Of Alternative Energy

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Wave and tidal energy harnessing are becoming a new viable potential form of alternative energy. New innovations with increasing advancements in technology are rapidly changing the course in the production of a clean, pollution free, and efficient use of energy through the consumption of the one of the world’s largest natural resource, the ocean. Illustrating the developments of wave energy, there are more suitable geographic locations than others for greater potential of wave and tidal energy production of electricity. These areas tend to be most active between 30º and 60º latitude in both hemispheres and greatest on the west coast. Waves are produced by the wind running across the ocean surface. However, tidal energy is driven by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. Tidal energy is also capable of being consistently predicted because through Newton’s law of Universal Gravitation we have the capability of calculating the gravitational pull between the moon, the sun, and the earth. Ocean wave energy is read either in gigawatt-hours (GWh) or in terawatt-hours/year (TWh/yr). There are three types of wave energy technologies. The first type uses the rise and fall of the ocean swells that generate electricity through floats, buoys, or pitching devices to drive hydraulic pumps. The second type uses the rise and fall of water that is within a cylindrical shaft to generate electricity through an air driven turbine. These are also known as oscillating water column

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