by Peter F. Boyce – Inventor & Corporate Director

The recession caused by the energy crises of the 1970’s made clear to me, that the engine of America’s prosperity was precariously dependent upon foreign oil. America was importing 29% of its oil from the Persian Gulf at that time. Following the ancient adage of “Find a need and fill it.” I began researching various domestic alternative energy resources, solar, wind Etc.. By the early 80s I had become convinced that the ocean waves not only hold the greatest potential but  incredibly are almost entirely overlooked.

Consider a battleship floating on the ocean. The waves lift it up and down, up and down, 24 hours per day.  How much electricity would it take to power a machine to  lift that battleship up and down 24 hours per day? That is a small glimpse into the energy potential of ocean waves.

Having locked horns with the challenge of  converting the power of the ocean waves  into electricity, I surmised that I, was probably not the only inventor in the world who saw the potential. Knowing that in the long run the distinction between the various systems patented world wide would not be whether or not they generate electricity, that was a given. The distinction will be; on the one hand the pounds of steel, costs of generators and hydraulic components vs. the other hand of how many megawatts per dollar of cost are generated. That relationship determines the basic rate of capitalization (how long it takes for the system to pay for itself and begin producing profits for its owners). It was immediately evident to me that the system must be in a series wherein costly components would not need  to be duplicated for each unit. In an effort to uncover a touchstone of approach to the challenge,  I turned my attention to researching the science of Geomorphology.  That research  not only uncovered a touchstone but then 3 unexpected benefits, each potentially as valuable as the electric power generated.

Touchstone

The phenomenon is known as “stacking”.  As waves approach a shore, they “stack up ” due to the contour of the bottom (diminishing depth). The wave lengths become shorter and shorter and the wave heights become greater and greater. When the wave height increases to approximately 1/7th the wave length (crest to crest) the wave breaks, releasing all of its energy as turbulence.  Giggawattz is therefore designed to be deployed in a continuous series, just beyond the breaker zone. There, the greatest quantity of energy may be harvested by the smallest possible units. If waves are permitted to break un-harvested, the entirety of their energy is released upon the beach sand as turbulence. Harvesting that energy has consequences.

Cause & Effect

The first unexpected benefit

There is an unavoidable consequence, a profound by-product that results from harvesting the energy of the waves. Are you ready? It is weakened waves! I had been so focused on energy production that when it first dawned on me what this consequence would mean to coastal towns fighting beach erosion, I sat stunned for a bit.

Geomorphologist Karl Nordstrum –Phd. writes in his book Living With The New Jersey Shore that the cause of beach erosion, is the turbulent release of energy from the breaking waves. The turbulence tosses the sand into suspension which is then swept away by the along shore current. Turbulent raw energy is the primary cause of beach erosion according to the science of geomorphology. It goes to reason that energy harvested from the waves before they break, has the direct effect of reducing the primary cause of beach erosion. Furthermore; it follows that with a sufficient percentage of energy extracted, sand carried by the alongshore current into the calm waters of the energy harvested beach, upon settling out of suspension will remain, resulting in beach sand accretion and a natural, gradually sloping beach profile. Realizing that the hundreds of millions of tax dollars being spent repeatedly on beach replenishment projects could be rendered un-necessary, I began sending detailed proposals consisting of wave energy calculations and mechanical drawings to the various government agencies that receive those millions of tax dollars. Guess what kind of reception those proposals received?  “Interesting but not interested.” Thirty years of this has taught me that the place where this apathy must be addressed is the court of public opinion. I am a slow learner. 

2nd Benefit - Protection Against Spinal Cord Injurie

Regarding the beach sand accretion from Giggawattz:  Aside from the increase in beach area, the naturally replenished and therefore gradually sloping beach profile is itself a valuable asset to any coastal economy catering to bathers and surfers.  Typically coastal tourist based economies with beach erosion problems, become dependent upon beach replenishment projects involving barges pumping sand from offshore up onto the beach. Such projects are very expensive requiring Federal and or State funding through tax dollars and the imposition of various controls. Due to the  great expense involved, the objective is to produce the maximum beach area for the tax dollars allocated. Such projects result therefore in a beach profile which drops off abruptly. How and when a wave breaks is determined by the contour of the bottom. Waves breaking on an artificially replenished beach break abruptly due to the abrupt profile of that beach. Surfers and bathers body surfing are subject to being cast headlong into the abrupt under water profile resulting in crippling neck and spinal cord injuries. These tragic injuries occurring on artificially replenished beaches do not receive much publicity due to the negative impact such publicity would have on the local tourist based economy. I personally met a young surfer who by now has endured the past 40 years as a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair from being cast headlong into an abrupt profile, breaking his neck. Both such personal tragedies and accompanying municipal liabilities are, easily avoided as a beneficial by-product of the harvesting of that raw ocean wave energy. 

3rd Benefit - Protection Against Oil Spills

Oil spills are devastating to the economies of coastal communities, especially those dependant upon tourism or fishing. Unfortunately spills being unexpected are usually dealt with after the fact. A race against time commences to locate, transport and deploy containment booms, before the spill can contaminate the beach. A Giggawattz series however, already deployed 24/7, in a continuous series, parallel to the shore, just beyond the breaker zone, with a continuous apron along the seaward pontoons of the series, is already serving the auxiliary function of a pre-deployed oil spill containment boom. The beach is therefore not only protected from erosion but from any floating pollutants which would otherwise contaminate and spoil the pristine beach.

In the above computer simulation video, the individual Giggawattz units each consist of 2 pontoons (seen in red) which provide the flotation. Legs extend upward to an apex forming a pyramidal framework from which is suspended a rigid member (beam). To the base of the rigid member is suspended a weighted pendulum tank filled with seawater that can be emptied when the units are to be transported. The pendulum tank is suspended so as to just skim the surface of the water. Near the apex, hydraulic cylinders (seen in yellow) are mounted between the legs and the rigid member. As the pontoons rise and fall on the crests and in the troughs of the waves the weighted pendulum is forced to swing to equilibrium. That force is applied to the hydraulic cylinders which convey the force through hydraulic lines to an hydraulic motor which turns a generator converting that energy of the waves into electricity. The energy harvested from the waves represents a direct reduction in the cause of and therefore the rate of beach erosion. Sand carried by the alongshore current into the area of the calmer water of the beach being harvested will settle out of suspension and beach sand accretion will occur. Restoring the beach to a safe, gradually sloping natural profile.

The Commercial Opportunity

The customers for the Giggawattz Beach Erosion Reversal System are any beachfront property owner or governmental entity with the responsibility of maintaining a beach profile both safe and attractive to beach goers and protective of the homes, piers and businesses along the coast. The safety of beachgoers is an issue worth mentioning: Typically beach replenishment projects through dredging / pumping / bulldozing endeavor to create as wide a beach area as possible for the tax dollars appropriated. Unfortunately, that approach results in a steep underwater beach profile which causes the oncoming waves to break abruptly, capable of casting bathers and surfers headlong into that steep underwater profile. This tragically sometimes results in neck and spinal cord injuries which are rarely reported on. Such reports negatively affect local tourism. These tragic injuries could be avoided if the beach were replenished naturally to a gradually sloping profile. A replenishment project followed up by the Giggawattz system would not only be protected from re-erosion but be restored to a natural / gradual profile.

Profits will be derived from the manufacturing of the Giggawattz units to be purchased by customers concerned about beach erosion, beach safety, marine habitat, a viable sustainable energy source and protecting the beach from oil spills. The Giggawattz system being deployed in continuous series, parallel to the beach, just beyond the breaker zone, equipped with a continuous apron extending several feet below the surface, along the seaward pontoons, serves a tertiary function as an oil spill containment boom preventing oil spills from reaching and contaminating the beach.