Salter's duck

Salter's duck, also known as the nodding duck or by its official name the Edinburgh duck, is a device that converts wave power into electricity. The wave impact induces rotation of gyroscopes located inside a pear-shaped "duck", and an electrical generator converts this rotation into electricity with an overall efficiency of up to 90%. The Salter's duck was invented by Stephen Salter in response to the oil shortage in the 1970s and was one of the earliest generator designs proposed to the Wave Energy program in the United Kingdom. The funding for the project was cut off in the early 1980s after oil prices rebounded and the UK government moved away from alternative energy sources. As of 2008 no wave-power devices have ever gone into large-scale production.

As a result of the 1973 oil crisis, Salter set about creating a source of alternative energy. The idea for creating Salter's duck came about from his studies on a lavatory cistern while at Edinburgh University. He invented Salter's duck in 1974 and attempted to make it the main device of choice for the Wave Energy program in the United Kingdom. A prototype attempt to use the device was constructed in 1976 off Dores Beach. It was to be used to "provide some 20 kw of power". It was modified slightly from the original design and Coventry University, which helped with the design, went on to utilize a separate type that was called the Sea Clam.

However, because of the 1980s oil glut, the perceived need for immediate alternative energy sources declined and, in 1982, the Wave Energy program was disbanded. This ended the hope of having Salter's duck become a mainstay in the alternative energy campaign. After later investigation, it was discovered that the Energy Technology Support Unit's cost determinations had mis-estimated the cost of building Salter's duck by more than double the actual cost. The Energy Technology Support Unit was set up in 1974 as an agency on behalf of the Department of Energy; though its function was to manage research programmes on renewable energy and energy conservation, it was operated by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. Cost considerations based on the findings were among the main factors in the duck's not being put into widespread production under the Wave Energy program in the late 1970s. The other major factor was that a consulting firm tasked with distributing government grants passed over the 9.5 million pounds that had been allocated to Salter's research and the improvement of Salter's duck, so the funds were never actually granted to Salter and his group. From this revelation and with the increase in research into alternative energy in the 2000s, Salter's duck has begun to be used as a part of wave energy research in the United Kingdom.

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