Coastal Services Center

With the U.S. breaking record highs for power use this summer and the price of natural gas continuing to rise, many researchers and utilities are looking to alternative power sources to add to the nation's electrical grid, and possibly even help replace some resource-intensive energy sources. In addition to solar and wind, some are eyeing the ocean as a new, potent source of renewable energy.

Potentially, there are many ways to tap the ocean for energy, including tides, currents, salinity, and even its thermal features. But waves may be the most promising source of ocean energy for the U.S. coastline, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.

While wave energy may sound futuristic, pilot projects are in the water in Europe, Australia, Asia, and Hawaii, and a commercial project is close to going on-line in Portugal. Ocean Power Technologies Inc., of New Jersey recently announced it is pursuing permitting for the first U.S. commercial site in Oregon. Oregon State University is working to develop a national wave research park to study wave technology its researchers are developing, as well as many other existing and potential wave technologies.

"It's real," Roger Bedard, ocean energy leader for the nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), says of wave power, noting that a full-scale prototype has survived for two years in the Atlantic Ocean north of Scotland. "Given proper siting, it probably will turn out, in my opinion, to be one of the more environmentally benign electricity generation [technologies] known to humankind."

Potential environmental impacts and user conflicts are the key concerns for coastal resource managers in Oregon, who for the past several years have been working with utilities, researchers, fishermen, state and federal agencies, and numerous other stakeholders to identify and address any areas of concern with wave energy, and map the potential regulatory process.

Being Dense a Good Thing

One only needs to watch the rhythmic rolling of ocean waves to see their potential as an energy source. The density of ocean water—about 1,000 times that of wind—also is significant in its potential for generating electricity, as is the ability to predict waves hours before they hit shore using existing ocean buoys.

Wave power devices extract energy directly from surface waves or from pressure fluctuations below the surface and are typically located two to three miles offshore. Waves off the coasts of Oregon, California, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii have been identified as good sites for the development of wave energy.

"Ocean wave electricity generation is about where wind generation was 15 to 20 years ago, but it's catching up faster than expected and is much closer than we initially thought," notes Bob Malouf, director of Oregon Sea Grant.

As wave technology improves, it is believed that less ideal wave environments might become more accessible as an energy source and that wave energy facilities could be sited further offshore.

Wave Is Enough?

Ultimately, Bedard believes wave power could provide about 10 percent of the country's electricity needs.

While this may not sound like much, Bedard argues, "If we had 10 percent of our energy from waves, 10 percent from solar, 10 percent from wind, 10 percent from hydropower—that would be great. As natural gas becomes more and more expensive, we will see renewable resources like these come more into play as economically viable."

On the Wrong Side of the Grid

West of the Cascade Mountains, Oregon consumes about 1,000 megawatts of electricity more than it generates. "Our coastline is very dependent on power from elsewhere," notes Malouf.

Kay Moxness, government relations manager for Central Lincoln People's Utility District, a publicly owned utility, says that in 10 years, it is forecast that the utility will begin to experience its "first window of deficit. At that point, we will not have a choice but to go out and find other resources."

Wave energy could make up the difference, she says, and no new transmission lines would be needed.

Researching the Way

For the past eight years, researchers at Oregon State University have been developing prototypes of new wave energy technology and have pursued the creation of a national wave research and development park.

In the search for research funds, they turned to Oregon Sea Grant.

"When their first proposal came to us, we weren't interested. I frankly thought they were naive," Malouf recalls. Sea Grant's citizen advisory board, however, overwhelmingly supported the project. 

One of Sea Grant's requirements for the funding was that the researchers participate in their Port Liaison Project to develop a collaborative partnership with fishermen and crabbers who ply Oregon's coastal waters. The fishermen provide ocean technical expertise and input on wave-park siting issues.

No-Take Zone

The primary concern of most fishermen, says Al Pazar, chair of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, and the owner-operator of two fishing vessels, is that the area around any wave park would be off limits to all uses, including fishing.

In 2004, EPRI did a feasibility study funded by Bonneville Power and Central Lincoln People's Utility District to identify sites in Oregon that would be good for either a wave research park or commercial wave energy facility. The site that rose to the top also happens to be a prime Dungeness crab fishery.

"To the credit of the researchers and state folks, they've included the public every step along the way," says Pazar. While not all fishermen support the research and commercial projects, he says most are "not throwing up many walls. We're working with them to try to minimize the impacts as much as possible."

State Interest

With Oregon State University blazing the research trail, state agencies began to pay attention to wave energy, says Greg McMurray, marine affairs coordinator for the Oregon Ocean and Coastal Management Program.

Wave energy development, says Justin Klure, senior policy analyst with the Oregon Department of Energy, was a natural fit with the governor's Renewable Energy Action Plan, which establishes the goal that renewable resources will meet 25 percent of Oregon's energy needs by 2025. Oregon has a range of incentives to encourage development of renewable energy.

Oregon's Department of Energy began organizing state and federal agencies, local officials, utilities, fishermen, and other stakeholders to look at wave energy and how the state might address any problems when siting a wave energy project. The group became People of Oregon for Wave Energy Resources, or POWER.

Answering the Unknown

While pilot projects around the world have reported little to no environmental impacts, the greatest unknown about wave energy is how a commercial facility will affect the ocean environment.

Potential environmental impacts include withdrawal of wave energy from the ecological system, interactions with marine life, such as migrating gray whales, any atmospheric and oceanic emissions, noise, bottom impacts from anchors, and visual appearances. Environmental impacts from cable landings are a concern, as are electrical and magnetic energy imparted into seawater. A wave energy facility also could pose a threat to navigation.

Bedard notes that since wave energy facilities are located several miles offshore and have a relatively low profile, facilities will probably have little visual impact. Wave energy produces no air emissions and would have little to no ocean emissions, depending on the technology and antifouling measures used.

Careful site selection, he says, is the key to keeping the environmental impacts of wave power systems to a minimum. For instance, sites can be chosen outside whale migratory routes and can avoid areas where sediment flow patterns on the ocean floor would be significantly altered.

It also may be that wave energy facilities could have environmental benefits, such as acting as artificial reefs.

For Oregon, other benefits include economic development and diversification in coastal communities, adds Klure.

Regulatory Routes

Aside from looking at the potential environmental issues, the POWER group is working to map local, state, and federal permitting and regulatory issues that will be faced, and is providing information to the state's Ocean Policy Advisory Council, which recommends future state policies on a wide variety of ocean management issues in both state and federally governed waters.

John Baylouny, senior vice president of engineering for Ocean Power Technologies, says the company has filed a preliminary permit application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which is requiring them to "sit down with FERC and discuss which agencies might be interested parties, talk to them, and find out what their needs might be, so that we can address their issues in our application for license."

"That whole process should take about two years," he says.

George Hagerman, senior research associate at Virginia Tech's Advanced Research Institute in Arlington, Virginia, notes that the Minerals Management Service is currently developing its regulatory policies for alternative energy facilities located outside state waters.

"The rule making for those regulations is happening now," Hagerman says, "and will directly affect coastal resource managers. The only time they will get to comment on these federal regulations is within the next year."

Going Commercial

Baylouny says that part of the reason his company selected Oregon as the location for its first U.S. commercial wave energy facility is the work the state has already done to engage the community. The ideal wave resources, existing grid connections, and the state's package of incentives were other inducements.

"Oregon has been very progressive in their efforts to develop a new industry in their state," Baylouny says. "It's clear they want to be the leader in wave power in the U.S."

He adds, "From our perspective, they will be a great partner to help build this new industry, and they are approaching it the right way."

Additional Resources

Oregon Department of Energy,
www.oregon.gov/energy/

Oregon State University publication, Terra,
http://oregonstate.edu/terra/2006spring/features/seapower.html

Oregon Sea Grant video clips from Wave Power DVD,
http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/video/wave_energy/index.html

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI),
www.epri.com/oceanenergy/

U.S. Department of Energy,
www.eere.energy.gov

Outer Continental Shelf Renewable Energy and Alternate Use Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Information Center,
http://ocsenergy.anl.gov/

Minerals Management Service,
www.mms.gov/offshore/RenewableEnergy/RenewableEnergyMain.htm

Ocean Power Technologies Inc.,
www.oceanpowertechnologies.com

 

Wave Power Technology

There are three approaches to capturing wave energy:

Floats or Pitching Devices
These devices generate electricity from the bobbing or pitching action of a floating object. The object can be mounted to a floating raft or to a device fixed on the ocean floor.

Oscillating Water Columns
These devices generate electricity from the wave-driven rise and fall of water in a cylindrical shaft. The rising and falling water column drives air into and out of the top of the shaft, powering an air-driven turbine.

Wave Surge or Focusing Devices
These shoreline devices, also called "tapered channel" or "tapchan" systems, rely on a shore-mounted structure to channel and concentrate the waves, driving them into an elevated reservoir. Water flowing out of this reservoir is used to generate electricity using standard hydropower technologies.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy