In renewable energy, the holy grail is a source of energy that is always available. Solar and wind power might be the most common, but there are times when they don’t work because the sun is down and the wind is calm.
Ocean waves, especially in Southern California, come in steady supply. One company is aiming to harness power from those waves with a pilot project at the Port of Los Angeles.
The star of the program is a blue, sedan-sized piece of metal sitting on the pier, waiting to get put in the water. Its whole purpose is to bob up and down on the ocean’s waves. When a bunch of these floats sit next to each other, they look like a series of piano keys that move up and down every time a wave comes in.
AltaSea, a nonprofit that develops the sustainable ocean economy, is shepherding the program at the Port of Los Angeles.
“There’s this piston arm attached to the float that acts like a…
