Alternative power isn't just cool and hip - it makes you feel superior over those nuclear power knuckle-draggers.
I don't trust any power generation method favored by anybody over 24, especially if they don't like hummus and arugula.
Besides, with enough mountains of taxpayer money burned up in endless subsidy, alternative energy systems can indeed be made to generate electricity. I saw it in somebody's predictive model.
And if not I can always pedal to keep the lights on.

The article failed to mention one important thing about this particular wave power system, it is unlikely to be harmful in anyway to sea creatures unlike under-water turbines that sea creatures can get stuck in and killed or hit by churning blades.

@Oztechi Most modern tidal turbine designs turn so slowly that they are unlikely to harm marine life. Unless a whale swims directly into them.

Todd, I do hope you jest, because either that was a joke that wasn\'t too funny or you have bizarre trust issues.

It may be a good technology for isolated towns located close to ocean. I am hoping that the Rossi E-cat will resolve all safety problems and will be to market within a few years. I live within a few miles of the ocean and have noticed that the salt water even in air carried inland for some distance has an adverse affect on houses, especially on metal parts such as nails. It even affects the power transmission lines over 1/2 mile away; I used to see crews with spray devices cleaning the high voltage terminals so that the discharge loss would be lessened. You could actually hear the buz of the arc that was caused by the voltage being conducted over the surface of the terminals and, at night, see the discharges.

If the reliability of the universal joint is adequate, this sort of energy harvesting could be used to compress air to oxygenate dead zones off eg. the Mississippi. Putting enough dissolved air into the first 30 feet to bring back the fish could be a genuine reversal of a major human caused blight. Additionally, in the air compression mode, no feedlines and generators are needed, so data can be more easily gathered on the performance of the unique features of the design.

Todd makes some interesting points!

This sounds an awful lot like wind power: huge upfront costs for a pathetic amount of actual power generated.
By way of comparison, an average conventional power plant puts out about 600 megawatts.

@adrian, the rossi device is a scam, look it up:) and sorry, I too was hopefulwhen I first saw it

Daryl,
Google some of Todd\'s comments here on Gizmag. He\'s the resident nuclear power superfan and hater of all things \"green.\"