Wave Power gaining a foothold in Europe

Europe, the current leader in alternative energy technologies, is starting to gain a foothold in wave power as well. Recently, a British tidal power company called Lunar Energy, agreed to build the world's largest tidal power installation in South Korea for £500 million (pictured above).

300 of the 60-foot high turbines will sit on the sea floor and use power from the tidal streams to turn turbines to generate electricity. They hope to be generating enough electricity to power 200,000 homes by 2015.

Ireland's OpenHydro and Germany's RWE are not far behind. Some of their technology harness tides, others use waves on the coasts to turn turbines. So far, both companies have test installations in the oceans, hoping to prove that their ecological impact is minimal and that the installations can survive the harshest ocean conditions.

Venture Capitalists are particularly excited about the growth in this industry and are investing unprecedented amounts of money. On VC firm believes wave power will represent 20% of Europe's power by 2020, compared to a forecasted 40% of wind power.