What are the advantages of wave energy?
* There is little visual impact. * Doesn’t need fuel to work. * It can provide shelter for sea life such as birds, seaweed, and fish. * There is a short timescale for receiving the benefits from the construction. * Not that expensive to build and maintain. What are the disadvantages of wave energy? * The sea can be extremely harsh, so any machines built need to be able to withstand these conditions, but also be economically viable too. * Some of these machines are noisy. * Dependent on the waves. Sometimes lots of electricity can be produced, and other times, little is produced. Will it be used in the future? The UK is in a good position to use wave energy (it has some of the most powerful waves in the world), and like tidal energy can account for 10-15% of the current UK electricity demand. Many more years of development is needed before the industry reaches a commercial position. Currently there are two wave power devices in the UK, one on the Scottish island of Islay, and the other
