  Wave energy harvesting could be a substantial renewable energy source without
impact on the global climate and ecology, yet practical attempts have struggle
d with problems of wear and catastrophic failure. An innovative technology for
ocean wave energy harvesting was recently proposed, based on the use of soft
capacitors. This study presents a realistic theoretical and numerical model for
the quantitative characterization of this harvesting method. Parameter regio ns
with optimal behavior are found, and novel material descriptors are determined
which simplify analysis dramatically. The characteristics of currently ava
ilable material are evaluated, and found to merit a very conservative estimate
of 10 years for raw material cost recovery.
