As with other types of renewable energy, opposition to wave power has focused on the aesthetic and noise impacts of the machinery on the environment as well as the possible impact on marine wildlife.
However, well designed on-shore wave generators have minimal environmental impacts and often form dual purposes, such as forming part of a harbour wall or water break in erosion zones and providing areas of sheltered water for marine wildlife. The world's first commercial wave power generator was completed off the coast of Scotland on Islay in 2000.
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