Waves and tides contain an enormous amount of energy. Bright ideas have led to several techical solutions to tap these unlimited sources of renewable energy. Some of the machines are operational while others are still in the design- test or prototype stage. These machines have in common that they have been designed and built to convert mechanical energy into electricity.

	Wave energy
	The Limpet is a real electricity generating station that uses surf 'splashing ashore' as its energy source (OWC, oscillating water column).
	The Pelamis is an oversized, double-Frankfurter sausuage-alike wave generator, 'riding he surf''. A prototype of the Pelamis is currently being tested at an Orkney test site.
	Other devices are Daedalus, Tapered Channel system (TAPCHAN), OWEL, and maybe more.
	Another 'surf rider' is a bobbling buoy type of construction, the Salter Duck, designed by David Salter in 1973. A prototype was never built.
	The Wave Swing bobbles vertically submerged under the wave tops. A real-size prototype of this ingenious design is currently opertational off the coast of Portugal.
	The Japanese have designed the Mighty Whale on the drawing board and tested a small demonstration prototype at Gokasho Bay. This machine is a surface-based generating device.
	The Danish Wave Dragon collects waves and extracts their energy.
	The Canadian Wave Mill does about the same as the Wave Dragon.
	What do you think of this Australian wave generator ?
	Tidal energy
	A research team within the Centre for Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Energy at The Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen has developed new technology (“Sea Snail”) which enables a post, mast or other structure to be supported in locations such as river estuaries and coastal waters. Adaptive hydrodynamics are used to exploit the flow of water such that, the faster the flow, the more The Snail adheres to the bed of the sea/river (instead of being washed away). Where conventionally there might be risk of the equipment or object being washed away, RGU’s technology exploits the flow of water to add strength and rigidit. A prototype Snail was tested in 2005 at Orkney. Website at www.rgu.ac.uk/cree/general/page.cfm?pge=10769
	Thirty years ago, the French built their breakthrough Rance Tidal Electric Power Station (230 MW). This tidal electric plant is still in operation today.
	The English company Tidal Electric is planning to build low dams in tidal zones. At high tide, water flows over the dams and fills the basins. At low tide, the water in the basins is let out via a turbine that generates electricity. This is a reinvention of an old idea once applied but abandoned in the early 20th century: the tidal mill.
	Hammerfest Strom installs submerged turbines resembling wind mills that extract energy from tidal currents. One installat6ion is in operation at the Lofoten Islands.
	Verdant Power hangs a kind of underwater turbine in flowing water (tidal or river).
	The Tidal Fence is a series of scoop-like revolving doors on the seabed that intercept currents and convert their energy contents into electricity.

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