Although observers say that technologies capable of harnessing ocean energy to produce electric power lag behind wind energy solutions by as much as two decades, wave- and tidal current-powered generators are beginning to make news. An intriguing recent entry is a unique, small-scale ocean wave energy converter, the Lever Operating Pivoting Float (LOPF), designed and produced by Swell Fuel (Houston, Texas). The privately funded company has built more than 50 prototypes, comprising a compact buoy, says Chris Olson, inventor and founder of Swell Fuel, that floats on the water’s surface, with a moveable lever and pivot arm attached to a submerged mooring. Wave action causes the lever to move vertically and the pivot to rotate, driving a small generator. Each unit can deliver 1,000 watts and units can be linked to provide electricity for offshore oil platforms, off-grid tourist resorts and the like. Although the prototypes, including the most recent, nicknamed Trojan Horse, are currently made of foam and wood, with lever and pivot arm of metal wrapped in fiberglass for corrosion resistance, Olson says that as the device moves into production, “we will definitely start building in composites.”  

Most recently, Swell Fuel has licensed LOPF to Mars Symbioscience, (Gaithersburg, Md.), a subsidiary of chocolate candy conglomerate Mars Inc., for testing purposes at its Pt. Mars Symbioscience plant in Indonesia. See more at www.swellfuel.com.