Wave power

[George61]

I am very concerned about the slow progress in developing our wave power resources.
There are two basic approaches to utilising wave energy:
1, to convert it directly to electricity;
2, to convert it to stored potential energy in reservoirs and using this stored energy to generate electricity.
There are numerous suggested devices which use the first approach but using reservoirs would be far more efficient and is equivalent to building dams and reservoirs to capture the energy from rivers.
Wave pressure will force water to enter the reservoirs through one-way openings in their sides and exit through turbines to generate electricity. Water will enter if the pressure from the incoming wave is greater than the pressure inside the reservoir and so a head of water above sea level is created inside the reservoir. The hydrodynamic pressure of the wave enables the head of water to be higher than the amplitude of the wave.
The reservoirs store energy and smooth electricity output. They enable more electricity to be generated at times of peak demand .
The reservoirs can  be fixed to piles in shallow water or supported by floats in deep water. The bigger the reservoirs the better as more energy can be captured and stored and there would be less energy losses in heavy seas through overflowing.
The reservoir structure is able to survive the forces of heavy seas because of the weight of water inside the reservoir and because it is the stored water in the reservoir rather than the structure itself which absorbs the forces of the waves.
As the reservoirs block the forward motion of waves they are cost effective breakwaters which could be used for coastal protection.
The use of reservoirs is a far more efficient and cost effective way to capture wave energy than the innumerable designs which seek to capture wave energy directly without energy storage because they can capture and store more energy and they act as breakwaters.
With our greater use of intermittent renewable energy sources there is a great need for energy storage and the reservoirs would be an ideal solution to this problem.

[WavePower]

There are many different wave or tidal generators under development , some faded away into bankruptcy and some are growing in strength.

The Ocean is one of the harshest environments to design for.

The turbine system you mention is popular in China and Korea where they use concrete structures to concentrate tidal differentials , it could be used in parts of the UK too.

check out Open Hydro , Wavestar , Floating Power Plant who all have viable technology .

:)