A força das ondas

Uma empresa escocesa vai investir na zona da Póvoa de Varzim, na produção de electricidade a partir das ondas do mar nortenho. Diz o Guardian:

The contract, initially worth €8m (£5.4m), will provide 2.5 megawatts of electricity to the Portuguese grid, enough to provide power for 1,500 homes, but the company has a letter of intent for another 30 machines before the end of 2006, subject to satisfactory performance of the first three.
Portugal, which has to import most of its energy from abroad, sees a huge potential for wave renewables because of its long Atlantic coastline.

At present, power from wave machines will cost about 15p a kilowatt hour, less than solar power and less than wind at the same stage of development.
Max Carcas, a spokesman for OPD, said: "Obviously, at this stage it is expensive, but cheaper than power from the first turbines."
"Once production is ramped up, then costs come down. Wind is 80% cheaper than it once was, and we believe we can do the same."

Um investimento verde, mas sem dúvida com o objectivo de dele obter lucro. Aposto que esta empresa terá todo o interesse em preservar a zona costeira, onde vai colocar o seu equipamento, ao abrigo de qualquer ameaças ambientais que possam prejudicar o equipamento e as suas operações.