Oregon Public Broadcasting

Our series The Switch is all about energy, and we’re spending some time looking at how we might get our energy in the future. 

When you flip the switch, where does your power come from? And what will power Northwest homes and businesses in the future?We're asking these questions and more for our special series The Switch.

Earlier this week, we looked at the possibility of harnessing wave and tidal power off Oregon’s coast .  As futuristic as it sounds, the idea has been around a while. 

In the 70s, a professor at Edinburgh University in Scotland invented a floating canister that captured the energy from undulating waves. 

It was known as Salter’s Duck, after professor Stephen Salter.  He’s on the phone from Edinburgh.  Professor Salter, good morning.