Wave energy v Surfing

daithi_dearg

Hello,

Just watching eco eye and they were talking about wave energy.

I'd imagine if this happened it might have affects on the surfing but maybe it might have positive affects elsewhere kind of like an erosion/deposition affect.

Has anyone heard of these schemes going in anywhere globally. Maybe not as it's still in the early days but just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this?

Slán,
David

spaceHopper

daithi_dearg wrote: »

Hello,

Just watching eco eye and they were talking about wave energy.

I'd imagine if this happened it might have affects on the surfing but maybe it might have positive affects elsewhere kind of like an erosion/deposition affect.

Has anyone heard of these schemes going in anywhere globally. Maybe not as it's still in the early days but just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this?

Slán,
David

There was a lot of fuss when they put in a test bed hubb of the Conish coast - we've got one off Galway for the last few years, noticed any problems

It's a two way street - global warming will f-up our weather meaning less surfable days. Wind farms off the east cost should be expanded - they aren't doing much harm - you hardly notice them on the sky line.

Edmc

spaceHopper wrote: »

There was a lot of fuss when they put in a test bed hubb of the Conish coast

It's an interesting situation alright. I surfed over there a bit during that debacle. Personally, though I absolutely love surfing, the country's energy dependency comes first. And the idea of Ireland becoming a player in marine renewables is just too good to pass up. Don't underestimate how much we're up sh1t creek at the moment regarding imminent fuel shortages.

Ireland's west coast has one of the most energetic wave climates in Europe, and the potential to install wave farms is there. The 1/4 scale wave prototype set up off Spiddal in Galway Bay has been very successful in its initial tests as I understand it, and recently, further funding for wave technology was announced. I think wave farms would be very un-intrusive, and I certainly can't imagine them having a big enough effect to disturb the ground swell reaching Ireland. But then again I don't know that much about it. Hard to imagine anything man-made dampening the enormous energy thrown out by a Low out in the Atlantic - thoughts?

SpaceHopper - hard to tell really what Climate Change will do to surfable days. Some theories predict increase storminess. Granted, if those storms are on top of our heads then the place will be blown out and pretty much un-surfable. But if we get increased storm frequency out in the Atlantic, then we could be seeing even more swell thrown our way...

spaceHopper

We'd get more days of howling on shores so less surf - but more swell

Edmc

Sounds good for windsurfing . Well it's too hard to tell what we'll get to be honest, could be quite a mixed bag, against a long term backdrop of choppier weather - whatever way you cut it I suppose the sea will generally be a more unforgiving place. Think far enough ahead and you might even be joined on your wave by rafts of ice.