Q. Why is WaveBlanket a rational green alternative to pollution based energy?

A. Wave energy is more abundant and acceptable than wind energy in proximity to heavily populated areas, WaveBlanket is low-impact, almost invisible from shore, avian safe, inexpensive, predictable, consistent, local, renewable, recyclable, and produces zero nuclear waste. If exported to other countries, WaveBlanket does not increase the risk of international nuclear terrorism.

Q. After 40 years of Green Energy research, we still generate less than 1% of our energy from green sources. Why is WaveBlanket different?

A. WaveBlanket is a flexible polymer membrane which uses air pressure rather than steel to achieve its lateral strength - and as a result produces about 1000 times more energy per unit of mass than rigid green energy designs.

Q. What are the benefits of WaveBlanket?

A. Local renewable energy is necessary for the peaceful resolution of global conflicts over scarce resources. WaveBlanket reduces carbon emissions as required by the Kyoto Treaty, creates local high-value jobs and exports, reduces shoreline erosion, secures water borders by creating an impermeable barrier to undetected boats, and reduces the amount of fissionable materials throughout the world.

Q. How does WaveBlanket survive a perfect storm?

A. While steel experiences plasticity and failure under excessive loads, Pneumatic structures experience endless elasticity. Like an inflatable punching doll, which keeps coming back for more, even if the WaveBlanket is bent and folder by heavy seas, it will resume its shape as soon as the storm has passed. Unlike Pelamis, which represents the extreme over-reinforcement approach to survivability, WaveBlanket represents the other extreme - flexibility as a survival strategy.

Q. One main question that I have is control and optimization and how that is figured into the design (i.e. parameterizing the resistance/buoyancy with wave conditions).

A. The membrane can be tuned for wavelength by increasing the system pressure, and for wave height by increasing the pressure differential across the turbine. Reactive loading on a wave-by-wave basis can be achieved by including several turbine systems with different pressures. When a wave peaks, the pressure is measured and diverted into the turbine system which will produce the highest energy.

Q. Can WaveBlanket replace pollution based energy?

A. Yes, at least for Coastal regions where demand is greatest. According to studies, the annual world energy consumption (about 400 quadrillion btu) could be satisfied if only 2% of the available wave energy were converted.

Q. Can WaveBlanket provide Fresh Water?

A. Yes - either directly by the use of common shaft turbine/compressors or indirectly by generating electricity. Desalination is an excellent use for  renewable energy generated when demand is low - such as at night.

Q. How does WaveBlanket compare to Pelamis?

A. Pelamis has very low energy per displaced ton in the moderate waves which are available on most coasts, it may take as much as two tonnes of Pelamis to power a single lightbulb! WaveBlanket on the other hand requires only a few pounds of inflated membrane to power the same bulb. 

Even if rigid wave stations could be made from the cheapest rigid material - concrete, they will still be comparatively more costly to transport, maintain, and decommission.

	WaveBlanket	Pelamis
Fullwave	Y	Y
Self-Reacting	Y
Reactive Loading	Y	Y
Flexible	Y
Sealed Operation	Y	Y
Inexpensive	Y
Low Impact	Y
Safe	Y

Q. How does WaveBlanket compare to an Oscillating Water Column (OWC) such as LIMPET?

A. Like WaveBlanket, an OWC uses compression as well as vacuum to power an air-driven turbine. There is however a great deal of compressible gas (air) between the wave and the turbine which is Oscillating. The WaveBlanket is close-coupled, which means the WaveBlanket can react more quickly and productively to the inherently chaotic nature of the wave moment.

	WaveBlanket	OWC
Fullwave	Y	Y
Self-Reacting	Y
Reactive Loading	Y	Y
Flexible	Y
Sealed Operation	Y
Inexpensive	Y
Low Impact	Y
Safe	Y

Q. Can WaveBlanket pump water to fill a reservoir on land like SeaDog?

A. The wave resource is diminished by the shallow water near the shore, and it may prove more cost-effective to generate electricity three miles offshore than to pump water such a distance. The WaveBlanket is an envelope which could also be used to store hydrogen as a safe means of seasonal storage.

Q. What is the development status of WaveBlanket?

A. The Structural Material of the WaveBlanket has been is use for about 7 years and successfully survived seasonal overloading. The Wave technology has been modeled and optimized under simulation. Some physical experiments have begun on aspects of the design. The project is in the earliest stages, patent protection is filed and pending, and we are looking for interested parties to move the project forward.

Q. How Does WaveBlanket compare to WaveMaster?

A. The WaveMaster design is also a self-reacting planer matrix. Like WaveBlanket it employees a combination of rectifying valves and multiple turbines. The WaveBlanket however is fully sealed and therefore immune to entanglement from seaborne paraphernalia. Wavemaster is rigid, and the surface is entirely composed of moving parts. WaveMaster is a half-wave rectifier, while WaveBlanket generates energy from rising waves and falling waves equally. WaveBlanket is safe in any circumstance - even if washed up on shore by a hurricane, it represents a minimal inconvenience, WaveMaster like all rigid designs represents a dangerous reef, while WaveBlanket behaves like a lifeboat, it is soft, and can be boarded for safety in an emergency.

	WaveBlanket	WaveMaster
Fullwave	Y
Self-Reacting	Y	Y
Reactive Loading	Y
Flexible	Y
Sealed Operation	Y
Inexpensive	Y
Safe	Y