A wave-powered prototype device is aiming to produce drinking water from the ocean - CNBC

Plans to usage marine vigor to desalinate h2o received a further boost this week, aft a Norwegian steadfast presented a strategy that volition beryllium enactment done its paces successful waters disconnected Gran Canaria.

In a connection Monday, Oslo-headquartered Ocean Oasis said its wave-powered prototype device, which it described arsenic being an "offshore floating desalination plant," was called Gaia.

The works — which has a tallness of 10 meters, a diameter of 7 meters and weighs astir 100 tons — was enactment unneurotic successful Las Palmas and volition acquisition investigating astatine the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands.

Ocean Oasis said its exertion would alteration "the accumulation of caller h2o from water waters by harnessing the vigor of the waves to transportation retired a desalination process and pump potable h2o to coastal users."

The institution said the improvement of its prototype had received fiscal backing from a scope of organizations including Innovation Norway and the Gran Canaria Economic Promotion Society.

The main capitalist successful Ocean Oasis is Grieg Maritime Group, which is headquartered successful Bergen, Norway.

The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago successful the Atlantic Ocean. According to the Canary Islands Institute of Technology, the islands person been "a pioneer successful the accumulation of desalinated h2o astatine affordable cost."

A presumption from the ITC highlights immoderate of the reasons why. Describing the Canary Islands' "water singularities," it refers to a "structural h2o shortage owed to debased rainfall, precocious ungraded permeability and aquifer overexploitation."

While desalination — which multinational vigor steadfast Iberdrola describes arsenic "the process by which the dissolved mineral salts successful h2o are removed" — is seen arsenic a utile instrumentality erstwhile it comes to providing drinking h2o to countries wherever proviso is an issue, the U.N. has noted determination are important biology challenges linked to it.

It says that "the fossil fuels usually utilized successful the energy-intensive desalination process lend to planetary warming, and the toxic brine it produces pollutes coastal ecosystems."

With the supra successful mind, projects looking to desalinate h2o successful a much sustainable mode volition go progressively important successful the years ahead.

The thought of utilizing waves to powerfulness desalination is not unsocial to the task being undertaken successful the Canaries. In April, for example, the U.S. Department of Energy revealed the winners of the past signifier of a contention focused connected wave-powered desalination.

Back connected the Canary Islands, Ocean Oasis said it would beryllium looking to conception a 2nd installation aft investigating astatine the PLOCAN installation had taken place. "In this phase, the prototype volition beryllium scaled with the capableness to nutrient h2o for consumption," the institution said.

While determination is excitement astir the imaginable of marine energy, the footprint of question and tidal watercourse projects remains precise tiny compared to different renewables.

In information released successful March 2022, Ocean Energy Europe said 2.2 megawatts of tidal watercourse capableness was installed successful Europe past year, compared to conscionable 260 kilowatts successful 2020.

For question energy, 681 kW was installed, which OEE said was a threefold increase. Globally, 1.38 MW of question vigor came online successful 2021, portion 3.12 MW of tidal watercourse capableness was installed.

By mode of comparison, Europe installed 17.4 gigawatts of upwind powerfulness capableness successful 2021, according to figures from manufacture assemblage WindEurope.