ABSTRACT
As King Canute reportedly discovered, the rise and fall of the seas represent a vast and relentless natural phenomenon-certainly beyond the absolute control of all earthly subjects. The ocean can produce two types of energy: thermal energy from the sun’s heat and mechanical energy from the tides and waves. Generating technologies for deriving electrical power from the ocean include tidal power, wave power, ocean thermal energy conversion, ocean currents, ocean winds, and salinity gradients. Of these, the three most well-developed technologies are tidal power, wave power, and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). Ocean thermal energy conversion is limited to tropical regions, such as Hawaii, and to a portion of the Atlantic coast. Ocean thermal energy can be used for many applications, including electricity generation, which utilizes either warm surface water or boiled seawater to turn a turbine, which activates a generator. Tidal power requires large tidal differences which, in the United States, occur only in Maine and Alaska. Wave energy has a more general application. The western coastline of the United States has the highest wave potential; in California, the greatest potential is along the state’s northern coast.
