selling more than sea shells by the sea shore

The Carbon Trust last year predicted that marine energy could provide 20 per cent of the UK’s electricity needs, and with the interest being shown in developing new sources of renewable energy, this just might become a reality. The Scottish coast is a site of several pilot projects to harvest wave energy and tidal energy; there may soon be offshore wind farms; and a new project to capture wave energy using floating offshore structures has been announced.

Embley Energy Ltd plans to use floating concrete wave-energy converters that it hopes will last 40 years, making them cost-competitive with both fossil fuels and other renewable energy sources.

The Sperboy is based on the 'oscillating water column' principle. As the buoy moves up and down on the waves, air is displaced from a chamber within the buoy which then drives turbine-generators situated on top.  Maintenance requirements are kept to a minimum due to a limited number of moving parts which are located above the sea’s surface making them more easily accessible.