The Japanese city of Kamaishi is among those hit the hardest by the tsunami that hit the country 10 years ago. After restoring the main infrastructure, the city authorities decided that the sea should bring not only harm but also benefit.
As a result, they planned to build a power plant that uses sea waves as an energy source, Japanese media reported.
The units will be installed on breakwaters, where the high tidal power is. The waves will move the cylinders, and those, in turn, will launch compressed air into the system, which can drive the generator turbines.
Next year it is planned to equip five such installations. Each takes up to ten meters in length and up to fifteen in width.
Recently, a project coordinator at the Kamaishi-Otsuchi Industrial Research and Training Center, Junichi Ogasawara, suggested using the power of the sea for his purposes. For example, start generating electricity with the help of a tsunami that once destroyed the nearby area.
The project was taken over by Marine Energy Co, with funding from a marine engineering firm and an electrical contractor in Kamaishi.
The research center for advanced science and technology at the University of Tokyo will also take part in the project. According to estimates by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, five generating sets, with a budget of $3.6 million, will begin operation as early as this year.