A Brief History of Wave and Tidal Energy Experiments in San Francisco and Santa Cruz

The Wave Motors of Southern California: 1890-1910

For two decades wave motors of various designs were experimented with along Southern California's beaches. The pattern was to announce a new patent, put the wave motor model on display, and let the public and investors examine the machine. Small trials would be done and then, if successful, full scale plants would be built. Only a few wave motors made it to that final stage. Most notable was the Starr Wave Motor of Redondo Beach which began construction in 1907. It was a large project that hoped to supply power for six counties. In the end, the enormous machine collapsed in 1909 because of the flimsy construction of the pier on which it was attached. The Wright Wave Motor of Manhattan Beach (1897), the Reynolds Wave Motor of Huntington Beach (1906) and the Edwards Wave Motor of Imperial Beach (1909) also made it far enough to have full scale models built. The Wright Wave Motor is the only one of these Victorian era wave motors still in existence. It is buried in the sand at the foot of the present pier in Manhattan Beach.

Within this twenty year period, wave motors of various sizes and stages of development were experimented with in Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Newport Beach, Oceanside, Laguna Beach, Catalina Island, Santa Monica, Venice, Huntington Beach, San Diego, Imperial Beach, and Ocean Park.

California Loses Interest in Ocean Power

After the turn of the 20th century wave motor projects in San Francisco were on the decline.

In 1908 the National Power Company saw their wave motor wrecked near Land's End during experimentation. In 1911 the Pacific Wave Power Company took out a lease on land at Baker Beach for a miniature wave power plant. They appear to be the last of their kind in San Francisco. What happened to their project is unknown.

Although interest in wave and tidal power development continued throughout the 20th century, actual public demonstrations became rare. In 1948, the exception to that took place, and the Cliff House again became the spot for wave power experimentation in San Francisco. This time it took place on the cliffside between the Cliff House lower balcony and the Sutro Baths. The inventor's name was Lewis Reece and he received some press during the trials of his wave motor. Viewed more as a novelty act than a serious scientist, Reece gave electricity from the ocean some publicity but his machine was uncooperative. After several tries his wave motor proved unsuccessful.

In the second half of the 20th Century development of wave and tidal power continued elsewhere in the world but in California it saw little practical development. In the Bay Area in 1965, a marine engineer from Oakland made news with his new wave motor and claimed that a model had worked successfully in a cove at Muir Beach in Marin for over a month. In 1983 the Berkeley City Council voted to install a wave motor offshore the Berkeley Marina but the project did not go through.

According to the California Energy Commission, in the last decade, projects have been discussed at Half Moon Bay, Fort Bragg, San Francisco and Avila Beach. Issues that have prohibited the development of wave power in California include the limitations of the technology, environmental impact issues, disturbance of marine life, high costs, concern over possible collisions with ships and other problems. from: http://www.outsidelands.org/wave-tidal3.php