Tsunami Power Plant
Shore-Side Standing Wave Power, Battery Storage, and Municipal Desalination
Patent Pending
Tsunami Power is a shore-side renewable power platform that scales the residential WavePod concept into a municipal and utility-scale energy plant. The system uses enclosed reinforced wave troughs to create controlled multi-node standing waves. Buoyant power modules rise and fall at the standing-wave crest and trough locations and drive overhead-mounted linear generators.
Unlike conventional ocean wave systems that depend on uncontrolled sea states, Tsunami Power creates a controlled resonant environment where wave height, wavelength, buoy spacing, generator damping, and battery charging can be optimized.
The first commercial target is a 25 MW to 50 MW shore-side plant paired with battery energy storage, municipal desalination, and grid-sale capability. The plant is designed to produce clean electricity, provide firm power through battery storage, run seawater reverse-osmosis desalination, and sell surplus power to the grid.
This plan is conceptual and requires prototype validation. The major engineering question is the net output after subtracting the energy required to sustain the standing waves.
Core Technology
Tsunami Power uses
1. Large enclosed standingwave troughs
Reinforced concrete or marinegrade steel basins located near shore or at industrial waterfront sites.
2. Wavegeneration motors
Dedicated drive systems seed and maintain a resonant standing wave at optimized height, length, and frequency.
3. Buoyant power modules
Large floats placed at standingwave crest and trough positions.
4. Overhead linear generators
Custom longstroke linear generators convert vertical buoy motion into electricity.
5. Counterbalanced buoy arrays
Opposing buoy modules are mechanically and electronically balanced to reduce gravitybased losses and smooth generator loading.
6. Battery energy storage system
Gridscale battery storage smooths output, supports desalination continuity, and enables peakprice energy sales.
7. Desalination integration
Municipalscale seawater reverse osmosis converts a portion of generated power into fresh water.
Technical Reference Point
Existing ocean wave energy systems provide the closest powergeneration reference class. Commercial and pilot buoy systems vary widely, from small lowkW platforms to large buoyant systems in the hundreds of kW class. For planning, this business case uses 100 kW gross per buoy as the base case, with 50 kW conservative and 250 kW advanced scenarios.
Seawater reverse osmosis commonly uses approximately 2.5–3.5 kWh per cubic meter, with 4.0 kWh/m³ used here as a conservative planning value. ([Hannah Ritchie][1]) Large desalination systems are commonly estimated around $800–$1,200 per m³/day of installed capacity, depending on site, intake, pretreatment, energy recovery, and civil work. ([Besta Membrane][2]) Utilityscale solar is a useful market benchmark; NREL reported firsthalf 2024 utilityscale solar pricing around $1.1/W. ([NREL Docs][3]) NREL also reports utilityscale battery cost structures varying by duration, and its 2025 storage update shows longterm projected 4hour BESS costs in the low/mid/high cases. ([NREL Docs][4])
Plant Configuration
Phase 1 Demonstration Plant
Item Specification
Number of troughs 2
Buoys per trough 10
Total buoy generators 20
Gross power per buoy 50–100 kW
Gross plant output 1–2 MW
Net output target 0.6–1.5 MW
Battery storage 2–6 MWh
Desalination capacity 1,000–5,000 m³/day
Primary purpose Engineering validation and first municipal pilot
Phase 2 Municipal Plant
Item Specification
Number of troughs 10
Buoys per trough 20
Total buoy generators 200
Gross power per buoy 100 kW
Gross plant output 20 MW
Net output target 14–17 MW
Battery storage 60–100 MWh
Desalination capacity 25,000–75,000 m³/day
Primary purpose Municipal water and grid support
Phase 3 UtilityScale Plant
Item Specification
Number of troughs 25–50
Buoys per trough 20–30
Total buoy generators 500–1,500
Gross power per buoy 100–250 kW
Gross plant output 50–375 MW
Net output target 35–250 MW
Battery storage 200–1,000 MWh
Desalination capacity 100,000–600,000 m³/day
Primary purpose Utilityscale power, water, and resilience infrastructure
Power Calculations
PerBuoy Reference Model
Formula
Power = Force × Velocity × Efficiency
For a buoydriven linear generator
Variable Planning Value
Effective vertical force 100,000 N
Average useful stroke velocity 1.5 m/s
Mechanicaltoelectrical efficiency 65%
Gross power per buoy ~97.5 kW
Rounded planning case 100 kW per buoy
PerTrough Output
Buoys per trough Gross kW per buoy Gross output Net output after losses
10 50 kW 500 kW 300–400 kW
20 100 kW 2 MW 1.4–1.7 MW
30 150 kW 4.5 MW 3.0–3.8 MW
30 250 kW 7.5 MW 5.0–6.5 MW
Net assumes 15–30% parasitic and conversion losses, including wavedrive motors, power electronics, mechanical losses, pump/support systems, and battery conversion.
25 MW Municipal Plant Case
Item Value
Troughs 15
Buoys per trough 20
Total buoys 300
Gross output per buoy 100 kW
Gross plant output 30 MW
Net plant output 22–25 MW
Daily net energy 528–600 MWh/day
50 MW Utility Plant Case
Item Value
Troughs 30
Buoys per trough 20
Total buoys 600
Gross output per buoy 100 kW
Gross plant output 60 MW
Net plant output 42–50 MW
Daily net energy 1,008–1,200 MWh/day
Desalination Calculations
Conservative assumption 4 kWh per m³ of finished water.
Daily Water Output
Power allocated to desalination Daily energy Water at 4 kWh/m³ Gallons/day
5 MW 120 MWh/day 30,000 m³/day 7.9 million gal/day
10 MW 240 MWh/day 60,000 m³/day 15.9 million gal/day
20 MW 480 MWh/day 120,000 m³/day 31.7 million gal/day
40 MW 960 MWh/day 240,000 m³/day 63.4 million gal/day
Recommended Municipal Configuration
For a 25 MW net plant
Use Allocation
Desalination load 10 MW
Battery charging / smoothing 5 MW equivalent
Grid sale / reserve 10 MW
Water output ~60,000 m³/day / 15.9 MGD
For a 50 MW net plant
Use Allocation
Desalination load 20 MW
Battery charging / smoothing 10 MW equivalent
Grid sale / reserve 20 MW
Water output ~120,000 m³/day / 31.7 MGD
Cost Model
Power Plant Capital Cost
Because Tsunami Power is a new mechanicalgeneration platform, early costs should be modeled higher than solar but with a target to approach utility renewable costs after manufacturing scale.
25 MW Net Municipal Plant
Cost Category Estimate
Civil wave troughs, foundations, marine works $45M–$80M
Buoys and overhead linear generators $45M–$75M
Wavedrive motors and controls $15M–$30M
Power electronics, transformers, grid interconnect $20M–$35M
Site work, permitting, engineering $15M–$30M
Contingency $20M–$40M
Power plant subtotal $160M–$290M
50 MW Net Utility Plant
Cost Category Estimate
Civil wave troughs, foundations, marine works $90M–$160M
Buoys and overhead linear generators $90M–$150M
Wavedrive motors and controls $30M–$60M
Power electronics, transformers, grid interconnect $40M–$70M
Site work, permitting, engineering $30M–$60M
Contingency $40M–$80M
Power plant subtotal $320M–$580M
Battery Storage Cost
Use 4hour storage as the baseline.
25 MW Plant Battery
Battery Size Purpose Estimated Cost
50 MWh smoothing + short reserve $15M–$30M
100 MWh 4hour firming $30M–$60M
150 MWh desalination + grid reserve $45M–$90M
50 MW Plant Battery
Battery Size Purpose Estimated Cost
100 MWh smoothing + short reserve $30M–$60M
200 MWh 4hour firming $60M–$120M
300 MWh desalination + grid reserve $90M–$180M
Desalination Plant Cost
Using $800–$1,200 per m³/day for largescale seawater RO planning
60,000 m³/day Desalination Plant
Item Estimate
RO plant capacity 60,000 m³/day
Installed cost range $48M–$72M
Intake/outfall and pretreatment contingency $20M–$50M
Total desalination estimate $68M–$122M
120,000 m³/day Desalination Plant
Item Estimate
RO plant capacity 120,000 m³/day
Installed cost range $96M–$144M
Intake/outfall and pretreatment contingency $40M–$90M
Total desalination estimate $136M–$234M
Total Project Cost
25 MW Net Plant with 60,000 m³/day Desalination
Category Estimate
Tsunami Power plant $160M–$290M
Battery storage, 100 MWh $30M–$60M
Desalination plant $68M–$122M
Total project cost $258M–$472M
50 MW Net Plant with 120,000 m³/day Desalination
Category Estimate
Tsunami Power plant $320M–$580M
Battery storage, 200 MWh $60M–$120M
Desalination plant $136M–$234M
Total project cost $516M–$934M
Revenue Model
Electricity Revenue
Assume wholesale or contracted power sale value of $50–$120/MWh, depending on market, capacity value, resilience value, and peak pricing.
25 MW Plant
Output sold Annual MWh Revenue at $75/MWh
10 MW average export 87,600 MWh $6.57M/year
15 MW average export 131,400 MWh $9.86M/year
20 MW average export 175,200 MWh $13.14M/year
50 MW Plant
Output sold Annual MWh Revenue at $75/MWh
20 MW average export 175,200 MWh $13.14M/year
30 MW average export 262,800 MWh $19.71M/year
40 MW average export 350,400 MWh $26.28M/year
Water Revenue
Assume municipal desalinated water value of $1.00–$3.00 per m³.
60,000 m³/day Plant
Water price Annual revenue
$1.00/m³ $21.9M/year
$2.00/m³ $43.8M/year
$3.00/m³ $65.7M/year
120,000 m³/day Plant
Water price Annual revenue
$1.00/m³ $43.8M/year
$2.00/m³ $87.6M/year
$3.00/m³ $131.4M/year
Combined Revenue Potential
25 MW Plant
Revenue Source Conservative Strong
Water sales $21.9M/year $43.8M/year
Power sales $6.6M/year $13.1M/year
Grid services / resilience contracts $2M/year $8M/year
Total annual revenue $30.5M/year $64.9M/year
50 MW Plant
Revenue Source Conservative Strong
Water sales $43.8M/year $87.6M/year
Power sales $13.1M/year $26.3M/year
Grid services / resilience contracts $5M/year $15M/year
Total annual revenue $61.9M/year $128.9M/year
Market Positioning
Tsunami Power is not positioned as only a renewable power plant. It is a waterenergyresilience platform.
Competitive Comparison
Feature Solar Farm Battery Farm Desal Plant Tsunami Power Plant
Produces electricity Yes No, stores only No Yes
Produces water No No Yes Yes
Operates at night No Yes, limited Yes if powered Yes
Supports grid services Limited Yes No Yes
Can create municipal water security No No Yes Yes
Weatherindependent generation No No Depends on grid Target yes
Visible public infrastructure value Medium Medium High Very high
Development Roadmap
Phase 0 Engineering Validation
Budget $2M–$5M
Deliverables
Computational fluid dynamics model
Linear generator design
Buoy force and stroke testing
Parasitic load measurement
Standingwave control algorithm
Battery charging validation
Phase 1 Pilot Trough
Budget $10M–$25M
Deliverables
1 fullscale trough
5–10 buoy generator axes
500 kW–2 MW gross test target
Power electronics skid
1–5 MWh battery system
Data package for investors, utilities, municipalities
Phase 2 Municipal Demonstration
Budget $100M–$250M
Deliverables
5–10 troughs
5–15 MW net output
10,000–30,000 m³/day desalination
Municipal water agreement
Grid interconnection
Public infrastructure demonstration
Phase 3 Commercial Tsunami Power Plant
Budget $258M–$934M depending on size
Deliverables
25–50 MW net generation
60,000–120,000 m³/day desalination
100–200 MWh battery storage
Gridsale agreement
Municipal water offtake agreement
Replicable coastal infrastructure model
Strategic SubBrands
Brand Purpose
WavePod Residential and small commercial system
Tsunami Power Utilityscale power generation
Tsunami Water Desalination and municipal water production
Tsunami Grid Battery storage and grid services
Tsunami ShorePlant Coastal integrated power/water facility
Tsunami Resilience Hub Disasterresponse power and water infrastructure
Investment Thesis
Tsunami Power creates a new infrastructure category controlled standingwave generation for combined electricity, storage, and desalination. The system targets markets where water scarcity, grid instability, coastal industrial land, and renewable energy demand overlap.
The core value is not just generation. It is the combination of
clean power,
batterybacked reliability,
municipal water production,
coastal resilience,
grid services,
and scalable modular infrastructure.
The immediate commercialization path should begin with a fullscale pilot trough, because the entire business case depends on validating net energy output after wavedrive parasitic load. Once validated, the platform can scale from municipal water plants to multihundredmegawatt coastal power and desalination campuses.
