Wave Power Electricity To Help Coral Reefs?

Wave Power Electricity from Swell Fuel: Smaller is Better

Olson may be on to something with his emphasis on small, lightweight units capable of generating 1,00 watts. They can be linked in a sort of offshore “farm” to scale up, and for maintenance purposes their small size makes them easy to handle. That’s a clear advantage when you compare Swell Fuel to another company’s rather more ambitious 21 megawatt wave power installation off the coast of Portugal, which was abruptly cancelled after buoyancy problems and other difficulties arose in the first three of its 22 planned wave power energy converters.

Swell Fuel’s Trick is in the Lever

Olson’s patented wave power converter is essentially a buoy that supports a lever or “point absorber,” which moves up and down with the waves. The necessary gears and generator double as a counterweight, and the entire device is designed to shift into a protective position during stormy weather or extreme high tides. The “Trojan,” Swell Fuel’s latest prototype, features additional advances.

Swell Fuel, Phone Home

Until now the primary interest in Texas-based Swell Fuel has been anywhere but Texas. Olson’s customers are primarily overseas. Mars Symbioscience is testing Swell Fuel’s Lever Operating Pivoting Float in Indonesia. Samkun Powertec of South Korea is also testing a Swell Fuel wave power unit, as is a power company in El Salvadore. Olson is eager to tap the home market in the U.S. and he may not have long to wait. The small-scale Swell Fuel units could be ideal for taking resorts and small coastal communities off-grid. That could include armed forces installations, too, as the U.S. military ramps up efforts to shrink its carbon bootprint.