Introduction

The subject of this academic paper is engineering for the environment. In this report it will be identified how engineering could help the environment. The main principle of the paper will be to look at how engineering such as wave energy and wave energy technology could help the environment now and in the future. The report will show how wave energy as a renewable energy source is a better and more environmentally friendly source of power than the other types of energy available such as fossil fuels which could be used in steam turbines in engineering.
The principle of wave energy is simple, it is the movement of devices that are on the shore or floating in the ocean, the movement of these devices is made by the waves of the ocean and this movement is then turned into power.
Wave energy is a renewable energy source and there are currently many engineering prototypes and ideas on the market. One of the prototypes on the market is the Oscillating Water Column. The oscillating water column can be found in many places either offshore, near shore or on the shoreline. The main principle of the oscillating water column is that waves produce an oscillating flow of air into a chamber, this flow of air is induced into an air turbine that turns the flow of air into electrical energy. Another idea that is currently on the market is an overtopping device, this device has a reservoir and is filled with the waves coming towards it to a higher level than the ocean. When the reservoir is full the water is then released, gravity naturally causes it to fall back to the ocean level this movement of water from the reservoir back to down to ocean level is then used to turn a hydro turbine. There are also many more devices that are in the process of being built or have already been built ready for the wave energy market.
There are a number of benefits that wave energy and machines like the two examples above could have on the environment. In this research paper those benefits will be researched and looked at. For example the fact that wave energy is a renewable energy source, it would lower carbon emissions and help improve our environment are a couple of benefits that will be looked at.