Air Force Academy researches wave power

COLORADO SPRINGS, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Researchers at the U.S. Air Force Academy were awarded a grant to continue their work on wave power.

The group received $285,000 to continue its research on how to harness electricity from the ocean using a device that looks similar to the paddle wheels of old riverboats.

The National Science Foundation grant will go to pay for more tests that will be conducted by academy cadets and building a laboratory model that will simulate how the wheels will actually work in the ocean with waves.

Many early designs were scrapped because of how temperamental the ocean can be, but wave power has been developed further, especially in the United Kingdom, and is becoming more economically viable by submerging the generator and allowing it to move with the waves.