Most of the energy that runs our society today comes from fossil fuels. They are not in unlimited supply, however, and we should start now to find alternative sources of energy to prepare for what is to come.
Clean energy sources such as wind, solar and hydroelectric are becoming more and more popular and as their technology is improved they are also becoming cheaper and cheaper. The ultimate goal is to make them cheaper than fossil fuels so that we can wean ourselves off of fossil fuels.
Other types of renewable energy are also being developed, and many of them seem very promising. One of these energies is wave energy, which is garnering much excitement for powering cities in coastal regions.
Waves are one of the densest forms of energy in nature, so with a relatively small power plant you can generate a lot of power. Wave energy also doesn't stop, unlike power from the wind or sun might.
A country which is famous for its surfing, Australia, already has many of these generators powering its homes.
A wave power plant exists off the coast of a city just south of Sydney, about 100 yards off the coast. It produces enough energy to power 500 homes and desalinates enough water to supply those homes with fresh drinking water, as well. It weighs about 500 tons.
It is very well built so that it can survive most major storms. It makes about 500kW of energy and it was $4.7M to build.
Although it is still fairly expensive, as technology develops it will become much cheaper. In fact, many renewable energy experts believe that is has the best chance of any renewable energies to become cheaper than fossil fuels.
