I'm fascinated by ocean power. We have this huge dynamic thing that covers a large percentage of our planet just waiting to serve us with energy. To this day it seems that the oceans unpredictability is the biggest problem to overcome before we can tap into this endless source of power.

Scottish wave energy company Aquamarine Power brings us a step closer by introducing the Oyster 2 wave energy converter. The new Oysters will be installed in Scotland this summer. The new 800kW device will measure 26 metres by 16 metres and will deliver 250 per cent more power than the original Oyster 1 which was successfully deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney last year.

All the Oysters will be linked to a single onshore 2.4 MW hydro-electric turbine. A small farm of 20 Oyster 2 devices would provide enough energy for more than 12,000 homes.

This project is part of a large investment by the Scotting government. The government approved ten marine energy projects that, if all goes well, could provide electricity for one-third of the nation’s homes by 2020 and make Scotland the world leader in ocean energy. It’s not a small investment. Construction of the ocean ‘power plants’ is estimated at £4 billion (about €4.5 billion / $6.1 billion).