New Kind Of Surfer Is Riding Waves — And Producing Power

Researchers have put a new wave-power device in the ocean off Oahu, Hawaii, to test whether it can reliably turn ocean waves into electricity. The device, called SURF-WEC, is a flap about the size of a big-screen TV, anchored underwater near Makai Research Pier. Waves push the flap back and forth, and that motion drives a hydraulic system that spins a generator. Researchers can even switch the system between different operating modes remotely to see which produces power more efficiently.

The project, led by a national energy lab and the University of Hawaii and funded by the Department of Energy, is meant to fill a gap in wave-energy research: there have been very few real ocean tests of these devices, and even fewer with data made public. After two years of lab testing in Colorado, the team shipped the device to Hawaii, weathered a storm that delayed installation, and got it into the water. It has now been generating power for more than five months and is expected to stay in place for up to a year, with performance data shared openly for anyone to follow.

This is early-stage research, not a product on the market. There is nothing here for homeowners to sign up for or install. But it points to wave energy as a technology still working out basic engineering questions, and it is worth watching as one more piece of the broader shift toward clean electricity generation, alongside solar, wind, and other sources already available for home use.