Introducing Renewable Wave Energy in the Tropics - Chapter 1: Engaging the Community

There is an unequivocal scientific consensus that the changes brought by climate change are already occurring and will intensify in the future, likely resulting in significant alteration of coastal ecosystems, coastal hazards, and lifestyle changes for fishers, coastal resource users, waterfront property owners and coastal communities. Coasts are highly vulnerable to extreme events, such as storms, which impose substantial costs on coastal communities, especially those located in Tropical regions. Over coming decades, coasts will be exposed to increasing risks, including coastal erosion due to wave action and sea-level rise.

Adaptation for the coasts of developing countries will be more challenging than for coasts of developed countries, due to constraints on adaptive capacity. Adaptation costs for vulnerable coasts are much less than the costs of inaction. Dramatic efforts are needed for adapting coastal communities to this new more aggressive environment, including technologies that lower the energy of waves that reach the coast.

Nova´s Wave Energy Converter (WEC) is specifically designed to work in tropical seas close to coastal communities exposed to wave coastal erosion. Placing Novas technology as breakwaters will lower wave energy reaching coastal infrastructure and beaches resulting not only in infrastructure protection, but also in nurturing beaches exposed to sand erosion. Moreover, the wave energy absorbed by Nova converters is transformed into clean electric power, contributing to the introduction of distributed power generation very close to final users, energy independence and green house gases mitigation.

Operating Nova`s wave energy converters requires the use of real time wave models for the prediction of wave heights and periods two to three days in advance, allowing coastal communities to prepare in case of major events.

Since the use of Nova converters as breakwater transforms the potential destructive energy of waves into clean energy (electric power), projects using this technology have the potential to generate carbon emission reduction certificates, allowing coastal communities to generate income for operation and maintenance and financing other sustainable activities.

Benefits of using Nova Wave Energy Converters:

•Coastal infrastructure protection
•Coastal communities adaptation to storm waves
•Beach nurturing and rehabilitation
•Distributed clean electric power generation
•Green house gases mitigation
•Generation of Carbon Emission Reduction certificates
•Creation of local employment

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Renewable
• marine energy
• wave
• energía
• renovable
• marina
• olas
• undimotriz
• adaptation
• climate
• change
• adaptación
• cambio
• clímático
• jamaica
• alvaro atilano
• nova oceanic energy systems