National research programs indicate wave energy is technically feasible and on the verge of being economically competitive with other forms of power generation. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory conducted studies off Waimanalo, as well as in the waters of Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and California. Of those sites, the Hawai'i location had the best potential, said the agencies' report.

"Wave energy is an emerging energy source that may add a viable generation option to the strategic portfolio. The bedrock of a robust electricity system is a diversity of energy sources," said Hank Courtright, EPRI vice president for generation and distributed resources.

In Hawai'i, where 95 percent of electricity is produced from fossil fuels, nearly 90 percent from oil alone, a diversity of energy sources has long been a dream, but it has been slow in coming. As of 2002, according to the federal Energy Information Administration, Hawai'i had a total electricity production capacity of 2,267 megawatts. Of that, only 173 megawatts, or 7 percent, was produced by renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric and wind power.