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<< Previous   of   Next >> Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Stanwood High School students (from left) Christy Swartz, Derek Britain and Jimmy Besancon work on their tidal energy science project while parent mentor Frank Besancon watches from above.   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Take us to your seven-member board of commissioners 5/3/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Saturday, May 3, 2008 3 Stanwood students try to harness wave energy By Scott Pesznecker Herald Writer CAMANO ISLAND -- The three teenagers sat on the edge of their orange rowboat, looking out over the sparkling waters of Saratoga Passage. They saw more than the rising, falling waves, the glimmering sunlight and the choppiness of the water from the persistent maritime winds. They saw energy. Infinite, unbridled energy. Now, Jimmy Besancon, Derek Britain and Christy Swartz -- a trio of 16-year-old science buffs from Stanwood High School -- are researching how to convert the natural powers of Saratoga Pass into usable energy. "Our goal is to create a usable amount of energy, created just by the waves," Britain said. Using an old rowboat that Besancon's father bought at a scrap yard 20 years ago, the teens built a barge with equipment to measure wave data, wind speeds and sunlight. A small solar panel on the front of the barge generates enough energy to power the onboard equipment, as well as operate a pump that keeps the old, leaky boat from filling with water. A pair of small, metal pendulums on the barge's metal mast swing back and forth as winds and waves rock the boat. The pendulums are attached to small generators, creating power as they swing. The teens concocted their idea nearly a year ago as they brainstormed project ideas on the back deck of Besancon's home, which overlooks Saratoga Passage. Swartz looked out over the water and realized the waves rose and fell like pendulums. They have worked on several science projects since meeting each other in middle school, but nothing this ambitious. "We sort of recognized there is a lot of potential energy in waves right in front of our house," Besancon said. "We wanted to find a way to harness that." Assisted by Besancon's father, Frank, a science coach for area middle and high schools, the three friends built their barge. Earlier this year, they tied the barge to a buoy in Saratoga Passage and collected two months' worth of wind and wave data. The barge is equipped with a radio transmitter that transmits data to a computer in the Besancon home. Their data showed that, unlike solar energy, wave energy can be harvested at a very consistent rate. Day or night, the waves always roll, and the pendulums swing at the same rate. Metal panels on the barge's mast also catch wind, helping the boat rock, which keeps the pendulums swinging. "There's a whole lot more available energy that we're not harvesting, we know that for sure," Frank Besancon said. The teens are also members of their high school's Science Olympiad, Hi-Q and Knowledge Bowl teams. In late March, the teens took second place in the Washington State Intel Science and Engineering Fair with their work on the barge. They plan to enter another large science competition later this year, and by then they hope to be using their barge to harvest energy, possibly storing it in a battery. Finishing strong in these competitions could help the students reap scholarship money for college, they said. They hope their project has a bigger impact down the road. "Generating energy is one of the greatest concerns today," Swartz said. Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.

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