From Ocean Waves to Electricity

The Fellowship  |  June 30, 2020

After miraculously surviving the Chernobyl nuclear plant explosion at only two weeks old after breathing in radioactive dust, Inna Braverman knew she wanted to devote her life to creating a safe, sustainable way of producing energy. Today, she’s founded Eco Wave Power which places unique technology on coastlines to make energy from waves. Writers at Israel21c tell us more:

The ocean moves just as much as water flowing down a river or cascading off a dam. But transforming the crash of waves into electricity has been elusive, not the least because a particularly strong wave can quickly destroy wave-to-electricity equipment. That’s what happened with Pelamisin Europe and Oceanlinx in Australia, both now out of business…

Even worse, despite the positives of ocean wave-generated power, environmentalists are generally opposed because the installations “create a new presence on the ocean floor, which disturbs the natural marine environment,” Braverman says.

Braverman thought of a less expensive, safer alternative: Installing “floaters” on existing manmade structures – piers, jetties and breakwaters – and putting the main energy-creating equipment with its sensitive computers and generators on land.