Britain's available wave power has been estimated to be around double the country's energy consumption and the South West of England sees a lot of that energy around its long coastline.

Now, scientists from the University of Plymouth and the University of Exeter in Cornwall are leading the way in pioneering research to harness the power of the waves.

The South West of England is a peninsula – and catches the full force of waves crossing the Atlantic. So it’s an ideal location for research into wave-generated energy, one of the most viable of renewable resources.

One example of this is the Orecon project, a spin out from research undertaken at the University of Plymouth.

The cutting edge research was showcased at the RegenSW Conference - Renewable Futures - at Plymouth this week.At the conference experts explained how satellite imagery has enhanced our knowledge of wave and tidal flows and how Cornish mine shafts could be used to provide electricity for local people.

Dean Millar, Lecturer in Mining Engineering at the University of Exeter in Cornwall, said: "We have measured air speeds in excess of 250 mph when the air is forced out of the shaft by incoming waves. We hope to be able to harness this wind power to create renewable energy."

But the principle of wave energy forcing air up long tubes and into turbines is not limited to land based installations, its just that Cornwall has so many abandoned mine shafts on the coasts and the rock has proven strong enough to take the pounding.

Originally the system was tested in the largest sea water basin in Europe, at Brest in France. Orecon is still in the development stage, but a prototype has been field tested and early results are encouraging. Typically located 6-10 miles off shore in order to have a minimum water depth of 50 metres, a single unit has an installed capacity of 1 megawatt, enough to power 1000 homes. The simplicity of the unit makes it perfectly suited for use around the world.

The idea fits in with the Wave Hub project being studied by the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) who is spending £500,000 to find out where it would be best located and the economic benefits of the project to the South West.

The Wave Hub would link a number of wave power machines with the national grid.

The prototype Wave Hub could be in place by 2006 and will consist of an underwater cable to enable wave power companies to test how well groups of wave machines produce power before they move on to producing them on a commercial basis.

The world's first offshore tidal energy turbine was built into the seabed about a kilometre and a half (one mile) offshore from Lynmouth in Devon last year.