New Zealand to Fund Wave Energy

This Press Release
Eco-Friendly Energy On Its Way dated December 10, 2003 reports that four New Zealand research programs will receive funding, starting in July 2004, to study environmentally-friendly ways to supply energy to New Zealanders.
The research will include the development of cost-effective Wave Energy Converters (WEC) in New Zealand to generate electricity, a four year project to be lead by Industrial Research Limited. As the Press Release states:

Wave power is a potentially important renewable resource and the researchers estimate that New Zealand's near-shore wave energy exceeds the current electricity consumption by over 40 times. The WEC design will include novel gearless conversion and "smart technology" adaptive control. This technology has the potential to achieve a breakthrough in electricity generation from renewable resources and capture key intellectual property for New Zealand. The National Institute for Atmosphere and Water (NIWA) and Wellington-based company Power Projects Limited will play vital roles in the programme.