jeff_wessner_energy_invention
Point Reyes Station resident, Jeff Wessner has invented a device that converts the natural sway of the ocean into energy. David Briggs

They say the moment of innovation is like the flash of a light bulb illuminating a darkened room: suddenly everything is clear. For Jeffrey Wessner, 68, a Point Reyes Station sculptor and designer, that “aha” moment for a new energy source came several feet underwater in the Pacific Ocean, as the waves pounded onto him. 

Diving for abalone in a wetsuit and fins, Mr. Wessner utilized the age-old trick of grabbing onto the stems of…