Fil-Am aims to build large-scale ocean energy generator

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino-American mechanical engineer wants to build his first large-scale ocean energy generator and test it in the Philippines.

Ramuel Maramara, owner of engineering firm Brimes Industrial in Long Island in New York, successfully designed a small-scale wave energy-generating device called “The Jellyfish.”

The Jellyfish was proven to efficiently absorb wave energy and turn it into electricity.

This time, Maramara wants to design a large-scale version of The Jellyfish that can generate one megawatt of electricity.

Maramara said the Philippines is a great place to test the large-scale version of The Jellyfish because it is an archipelagic state, where big waves along its seashores can be converted into power.

“The Philippines has so many islands. We have more than 7,100. Actually, every three months I’m here in the Philippines. I want to test the first one that will be a big one,” Maramara told The STAR.

Maramara also said that being born a Filipino, he wanted to show the world that Filipinos are world-class builders and engineers.

“I guess it’s just natural for me to want to bring pride to our country. We are not boasting. We are just saying that we Filipinos can also do it. These things are not just for foreigners. We Filipinos are world-class builders, world-class engineers,” he said.

“Right now, it’s a race. Australia has its own machine. The United Kingdom has its own machine. France has its own machine. Denmark, China, Japan, they have their own machines. It’s an international race for the one who can develop a device that is really efficient and at the right price. It has to be economically viable because you have to sell it,” he explained.

Maramara has applied for some funding from the Department of Science and Technology for the development of the first prototype of the big ocean energy generator.

He said renewable energy company First Gen Corporation of the Lopez-owned First Philippine Holdings Corp. already committed to support his development of the large-scale ocean energy generator.