This article in the NY Times is the best explanation of the current state of wave and tide power I’ve seen. Given that the UK believes that 18% of its power needs will come from wave power, this is not an insignificant or experimental effort.

Wave power generators use the kinetic enegry of water movement to generate electricity. The two most common forms are a snake-like device of large tubes that rise and fall with wave motion and turbines which capture energy from water flow from tides and currents. These generators consume no resources and generate no pollutants or green house gases.

Along with wind, solar and hydropower from dams, these technologies don’t convert stored energy from fuels like oil, coal or nuclear materials. The upside is the clean result, the downside is the inability to store power and supply it as demand rises. This storage capability is what makes fossil fuels so desireable even though they costly and damaging to the environment.

Energy storage is one of the critical areas we need to follow as we try to understand how to replace fossil fuels. Battery technology and fuel cells are two areas wghere storage technology is advancing. There is a lot of Fuel Cell R&D in the Rochester area, in part due to a GM skunkworks project baed here.