For more about wave power and links to companies working on the technology, see the wikipedia page on that subject.

A Canadian company announced Sept. 17 that it had successfully deployed the West Coast’s first commercial-scale wave energy converter off the coast of Newport.

Vancouver, British Columbia-based Finavera Renewables plans to install more of the massive devices on the site, creating a wave park two and a half miles offshore that the company hopes will generate electricity commercially by 2010.

The generator, which bears the moniker AquaBuoy 2.0, converts wave power into electricity by harnessing the ocean’s kinetic energy.

The rise and fall of a floating buoy drives pumps that push pressurized seawater through electrical turbines, and the resulting power is transmitted to shore via an undersea cable.

"The capture of renewable wave energy will play a significant part in the emerging new energy economy and has the potential to power millions of homes in the United States alone," Finavera Chief Executive Officer Jason Bak said in a statement to the media. "The mooring and successful commissioning of the AquaBuoy 2.0 is a momentous achievement for Finavera Renewables and the ocean energy industry as a whole."

The company has similar projects in development in Portugal, South Africa and Canada.