European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 17, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 the stars and stripes sunday september 17, 1978 for clean reliable limitless Energy . Wants to harness the Waves London a Britannia which once ruled the Waves with its Navy and Mer chant Fleet is now trying to harness them As a limitless source of clean reliable Energy. Day in and Day out Waves sweep in from the North Atlantic and dissipate their Force on the beaches and Cliffs of Northwest Scot land and Southwest England. Waves from the North sea Wash the East coast of Bri Tain which has a total coastline of about 4, 500  centuries the Waves have been taken for granted a constant backdrop to coastal life a bracing spectacle for sum Mer vacationers a Hazard to Mariner when whipped by a North Atlantic storm. But now the government is giving research priority to wave Power in its search for renewable forms of Energy. Greater potential surrounded As our Island is by energetic Waves wave Power probably offers a greater potential for the United kingdom than any other natural renewable Energy source says Alex Eadie parliamentary undersecretary of state in charge of the quest for alternative Energy sources. Experts have worked out that a 600 mile stretch of wave Energy machines set off the Southwest coast of England and off the Northwest of Scotland to capture the Energy of the Atlantic could in principle provide about half of the . S present electricity  the country s 235 Power stations using such fuels As Coal Oil Gas and fissionable material had a total output capacity of 67, 431 megawatts of electricity at the end of 1976, the latest year for which figures Are available. A megawatt is equal to 1 million Watts. Britain has vast reserves of Oil and Natu ral Gas beneath the North sea and expects to be self sufficient in Energy and per haps even an Oil exporter by 1980. So the quest for renewable Power from the Waves winds tides and Sun has so far been modest compared to the Multi billion Dollar investment to extract North sea Oil. But As a spokesman for the department of Energy put it we Are investing for our children and grandchildren for the Days when the Fossil fuels Start to  the labor government launched re the european edition col. Billy e. Spangler Usa. Editor in chief it. Col. . Taylor Usan. Deputy editor in chief Mert Proctor. Managing editor Elmer d. Frank. Production manager henrys. Epstein. Circulation manager this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication for . Armed forces overseas. The stars and stripes is published in conjunction with the armed forces information program of the department of defense. Contents of the stars and stripes Are not necessarily the official View of the . Government the department of defense or the . European command. The appearance of displays in this newspaper concerning commercial publications does not constitute an endorsement by the department of de f prefix gfrt5.vi 311 m Darmstadt Airstrip prefix 2376 741, telex 0419-332. New York office room 948, 201 Varick St., new York 10014, Tel area code 212 620-3333. Second class postage paid at new York n. Y. News bureaus Bremerhaven Germany Dan Synovec building 103, Carl Schurz Cavern Bremerhaven military 8659 or Bremerhaven Civ 0471 88782 Kaiserslautern Germany Floyd Harrington building 2897, Pulaski Barracks Vogel Weh military 6050 or Kaiserslautern Civ 0631 52104 Nuernberg Germany John Savard building 21, William o. Darby Cavern Nuernberg military 7256 or Nuernberg Civ 712563 Stuttgart Germany de Hill bldg. 4330, Mcgee Barracks Stuttgart military 7001 or Stuttgart Civ 541513 ., Gary Harris Raf Mildenhall co . Sports office Apo 09127, Mildenhall 712511 ext. 2231 or civilian Mildenhall 713882, telex 81652 Washington d.c., John Hart Oast a the Pentagon room 2e756, Washington 20301, Tel. 202 697-6695. Circulation offices Germany Berlin civilian 8331646, Mil 6187 Bremerhaven Civ 85168, Mil 8119 Frankfurt Civ 692050 Kaiserslautern Civ 57617, Mil vog Wleh 6050 Munich Civ 6901503 or 6901504, Mii 6556 Nuernberg Civ 712558, Mil 7256 North German Region Rhein main Mil 7103 or 6025 Stuttgart Civ 814596, Mil 6030. Greece Athens Civ 9923390 and telex 216892. Italy Vincenza Civ 559346. Spain Madrid Civ 2057546 or Torrejon air base Mil 7546. Turkey Istanbul Civ 664372. United kingdom Greenham common Civ 44768, military 46263 ext. 209. Search into renewable Energy in april 1976. So far it has committed 16 million pounds about $31.2 million to look into such schemes As placing Aero generators on Windy hilltops and tapping the heat from hot rocks deep beneath the Earth s sur face. But the investigation of wave Power clean reliable Energy right Here on our Doorstep As one London newspaper put it seems the most promising. Earlier this year Britain s natural Energy Center an Independent group of Engi neers who advocate exploitation of renewable Power reported that the Energy crossing a 1,700-mile imaginary contour 10 Miles off Britain s Northwestern coast is about 500 million megawatt hours a year. This would represent if harnessed nearly twice the electricity produced by the Central electricity generating Board for All of Britain in 1976. The government began wave Power re search with an allocation of a million pounds about $1.95 million As part of the funds made available for renewable Energy investigation in april 1976. In april 1977 it increased the fund to $4.8 million and last june allocated another $5.6 million to harnessing the Ocean. One scheme being developed by sir Christopher Cockerell who in the Early 1950s invented the hovercraft envisions a network of floating Power stations called Cockerell rafts off Scotland s Northwest coast. Each raft would be about 100 Yards Long and 50 Yards wide and consist of pontoons hinged together. As the pontoons moved up and Down on the Waves the hinging motion would be used to drive Hydraulic rams which in turn would drive electrical alternators. The Power would be taken ashore by seabed Ca Bles to the National Grid. In an operational system a single raft might generate two megawatts of electricity according to wave Power Ltd., the com Pany the 68-year-old inventor set tip to develop the device. A series of rafts stretching Over a length of 15 Miles and five to 10 Miles offshore might provide the equivalent of a 500-megawatt Power station. Wave Power Ltd. Demonstrated a scale Model of the device for Eadie last april in the solent Between England s South coast and the Isle of Wight and Cockerell declared this is the Best run show i be Ever been mixed up  another plan getting government help involves the Salter  developed by an Edinburgh University research team headed by Stephen Salter. A scale Model of the device is currently being tested at the University in a new 90 by-30-foot tank which at the flick of a switch can reproduce virtually any sea conditions. Another larger Model is being tried out on Scotland s Loch Ness. In an operational system strings of Bob Bing ducks would be mounted on a Long spine. Salter says he envisions installations of 30 Kilometres of nodding ducks at 50 ducks per Kilometre. As they Bob to and fro with the Waves they would drive pistons to generate electricity. The great advantage As i see it Salter says is that while our North sea Oil re serves will eventually dry up wave Power in the Long term is As secure As we could possibly wish. In British Waters particularly off the hebrides wave Power is Worth having for 90 percent of the time in Winter and about 80 percent of the time on  the Peak season for demand Winter is the season of North Atlantic storms and the most wave action. Or. Denis Mollison lecturer in Mathe Matics and statistics at Edinburgh s Heriot Watt University and a member of Sailer s team says International interest in wave Power is increasing. The japanese Are very keen on the idea because of their Lack of hydrocarbon capability Mollison said and other areas where it could be a distinct feasibility in clude the West coast of America the South Ern Caribbean and South  Britain Japan the United states and Canada signed an agreement april 13 in Tokyo to take part in a joint research project involving wave Power in the sea of Japan. Eadie said the four countries will test Over the. Coming two Winters turbines and generators on Board an 80-meter-Long buoy specially constructed for the Japan Marine science and technology Center. The information and experience from the sea trial will be of considerable value to our Independent National program on wave Power Eadie said. As part of its wave Power research Bri Tain earlier this year commissioned the launching of three instrument Laden wave rider buoys to collect data on tidal Energy in the Severn Estuary. The Estuary in southwestern England opens into the Bristol Channel and the at lactic Ocean and is considered the area in Britain most suited to capturing the Energy of the ingoing and outgoing tides. France has had in operation for a de Cade a 240-megawatt tidal Power station so far the Only one of any significance in the world. It uses the tides in the Estuary of the River Ranee at the port of St. Malo in Normandy. Scientists describe the harnessing of the Ocean As a High risk High Reward Ven Ture. It involves formidable engineering challenges installations on a Gigantic scale and is not Likely to pay off until Well into the 21st Century. London s evening news said in an Edito rial the prize is Power a limitless sup ply of heat Light and Energy that is cheap clean utterly reliable and will last fore  but one big disadvantage As with any new technology is the enormous capital expenditure involved. Another says a British government study document is that wave Power install tons littered about the sea surface could j pose a Hazard to shipping and could have some effect on the local Marine Environ  j Eadie Points out that renewable Energy j including wave Power must be kept in perspective. The contribution that renewable Energy sources can make to our Energy sup plies Over the rest of the Century is limited perhaps to the equivalent of 10 million tons of Coal a year in 2000, compared to a total primary Energy demand last year of 332 million tons of Coal equivalent. But we must also remember he said that their contribution to our Energy needs could begin to build up usefully in the first Quarter of the next  letters to the editor Retiree decries lose of Benefit i should like to bring to your attention an impending change in military As Well As . Postal service service for . Mili tary retired members living in Europe. On july 7, i received in my Apo mail Blix a letter which advises me that effective sept. 20 parcel mail privileges will be limited to those parcels weighing less than one Pound. We have lived Here in Europe for More than six years As a retired . Air Force family and have always enjoyed full postal privileges. What has happened to cause this drastic reduction in our already with ered retirement benefits the retired member is already treated in Many respects As a citizen of lesser Sta Tus. And now it looks like a certainty that we shall become second class americans. What Are the grandparents of our Chil Dren to do when they want to Send birthday or Christmas packages i have american made Power and hand tools. We have an american made refrigerator washing , dryer Freezer and others. How am i to receive repair and spare parts right now i have sitting at Home in Pennsylvania some Power tools which i must disassemble and Send to Europe in mailable parts via parcel Post. I have firm flight reservations to travel there with my family. Those packages can t possibly All make the deadline be cause i know from experience that Apo parcels often Are in route More than 60 Days. So far As i know most of the Apo parcel Post travels on a space available basis. And anyway the few packages sent by the few retired members surely can t overburden the postal system. We the overseas living retired members urgently need help on this matter. Name withheld Munich editor s note it. Col. William s. Graf director of postal operations Mili tary personnel Center Europe replies military postal privileges for retirees living overseas have become a matter of increased interest to the department of defense in recent years because of the Large numbers of personnel being employed by contractors overseas. A significant increase in mail volume and workload has occurred particularly because of parcels being shipped by Fame i lies and mail order houses in the states j a 1976 audit reported a Cost to Dod of some $1.5 million to support More than 3, 300 retirees and their dependents in a mid Eastern country alone. A parcel limitation of less than one Pound was placed in effect for military retirees in that country on sept. 1,1976. This was primarily to Cut Down on the volume of Bulky items from mail order houses which had reached the Point at which it could have been called an abuse of the privilege. Although accurate Cost savings Are not available it is estimated that there has been a reduction in postal support Cost o some $334,000 since that Date. On March 20, 1978, Dod directive 4525.5 established that restriction  Felt it necessary to reduce support Cost such As these whenever feasible. At the same time Dod Felt it would be wrong to completely divest the military retirees of a privilege they have held for Many years when other groups such As non Dod civilians affiliated with support Active cities such As credit unions and off duty educational programs continue to enjoy use of the facilities. This Compromise limiting parcel ser vice to packages weighing less than one Pound will Cut Down on abuse of the Privi lege save Money and still preserve the essence of a Benefit which has been sanctioned by the usage of More than 30 years. Usa eur has requested that action be taken to revise Dod directive 4525.5 to reinstate the previous 70-Pound parcel weight limitation. Unfortunately until such time As the directive is revised Usa eur Apo must enforce the restrictions