You may not have noticed it, but in news that feels cosmically reflective of life on Earth recently, the moon began to wobble this year — a natural phenomenon that occurs every 18.6 years. While it won’t cause the sky to fall, it will influence our seas, with global tides suppressed in the near-term but amplified in the second half of the cycle. That’s got some watchers concerned about rising sea levels, but it also presents an interesting dynamic to one developing but often overlooked renewable energy source: our planet’s oceans. “Wave energy” proponents believe ocean-focused technologies can someday complement wind and solar, while also being more reliable. In today’s RBN blog, we examine what wave energy is and how it’s produced, the potential pros and cons compared with other renewables, and what type of projects are being developed.
For starters, let’s take a quick look at ocean energy, which includes several concepts that we’ll spell out shortly. Simply put, the main idea involves using the ocean’s waves and tides to produce electricity. The concept itself is not new — a French engineer named Pierre Girard was granted a patent on generating energy from ocean waves in 1799 — but the increased focus on net-zero emissions in recent years has raised its profile and put renewed focus on its potential.
The oceans cover 70% of our planet, so the potential for wave energy is huge, but to a large extent, it’s still in the research-and-development stage. It is estimated that wave energy could produce up to 80,000 terawatt hours (TWh) of power annually, or more than triple today’s total global electricity consumption, but current production is only a tiny sliver of that. Energy from wave and tidal sources have more than doubled since 2017, but total capacity was just 65 megawatts (MW) in 2020, with the Ocean Energy Systems global collaborative hoping to reach 300 gigawatts (GW) by 2050.
RBN Energy’s US CO₂ Infrastructure map brings together legacy Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) assets, as well as announced large-scale Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS) projects, all in our signature concise, accurate, and intelligible style.
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About the song
"Wave on Wave" was written by Pat Green, David Neuhauser, and Justin Pollard. It appears as the fourth song on Pat Green's second major label studio album of the same name. Recorded at Carlee-Day Studio in Nashville, with Tony Brown and Doug Morris producing, the song was released as a single in May 2003. It went to #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. Personnel on the record were: Pat Green (lead, backing vocals, acoustic guitar); Brendon Anthony (fiddle); Brett Danaher, Jondan McBride, David Neuhauser, and Brent Rowan (guitars); Michael Tarabay (bass); Chad Cromwell (drums); Sasha Ostrovsky (steel guitar); John Jarvis and David Neuhauser (keyboards); and Curtis Wright and Jondan McBride (backing vocals).
The album, Wave on Wave, was recorded in 2002-03 at Pedernales Studio in Spicewood, TX, with Don Gehman producing. Released in July 2003, the album went to #2 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and #10 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. It has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Two singles were released from the LP.
Pat Green is an American country artist from Waco, TX. He started his music career in the mid-1990s playing the bars around Texas Tech in Lubbock, TX, where he went to school. After releasing three independent LPs produced by Lloyd Maines, Green caught the attention of Willie Nelson. After touring as the opening act for Nelson, Green got a sponsorship from Miller Lite beer and a deal from Universal/Republic in Nashville. He has released 10 studio albums, two live albums, and 20 singles. His song, "I Like Texas," has been adopted as the victory song for Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers. Green continues to record and starts a new U.S. tour this month.
