West Coast Wave Energy Framework Open for Public Comment

Pacific Energy Ventures, under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is collaborating with stakeholders to develop a Planning & Assessment Framework that outlines environmental information relevant to developing and permitting wave energy projects offshore California, Oregon, and Washington. The project is now focused on collecting stakeholder input on options to address key data gaps. A survey designed to present the draft options and collect stakeholder input is available now through October 7, 2010. Once stakeholder input is collected, the project team will summarize the feedback in a final report to be shared with the DOE and all interested parties.

Click on this link to participate in the survey.

Surfrider Foundation Signs Historic Settlement Agreement on Reedsport, Oregon Wave Energy Project

The Surfrider Foundation today joined over a dozen government agencies, ocean stakeholder groups, and environmental organizations in signing a historic settlement agreement with Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) in support of the construction and operation of the Reedsport OPT Wave Park.

The Reedsport OPT Wave Park is expected to be the first commercial-scale wave energy project in the United States, pending licensing from the Federal Energy and Regulatory Commission (FERC). Phases I and II of the project will consist of ten PowerBuoys installed 2.5 miles off the coast of Reedsport, OR.

The parties to the settlement agreement participated in a three-year process to develop consensus on aspects of project design, required monitoring, and contingencies for adaptive management. The Surfrider Foundation has served as a formal representative of recreational and environmental interests throughout the process.

“We believe this represents a really good approach for the development of wave energy technology,” said Pete Stauffer, Surfrider Foundation’s Ocean Ecosystem Program Manager. “Incorporating good science and meaningful stakeholder involvement in the planning and management of wave energy projects is in the best interests of nearshore ecosystems and coastal communities.”

The Reedsport settlement agreement defines a precautionary approach to development of the Wave Park that is intended to minimize impacts to the nearshore environment and existing ocean uses such as recreation and fishing. An adaptive management program that includes monitoring of ecological and socioeconomic effects will inform the management and further build-out of the project.

The Surfrider Foundation recognizes that technologies utilizing ocean waves, tides, currents and wind may offer important benefits as renewable sources of energy that will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. They may also help to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and the dangerous practice of offshore oil drilling.

The Surfrider Foundation has developed a policy statement on renewable ocean energy, which includes a set of principles to consider during the planning or evaluation of any proposed project. Employing these principles may help reduce impacts to ocean recreation, nearshore ecology, coastal processes, public safety, aesthetics, and fishing access.

Interest in Wave Energy Increasing

Although we're still years away from getting a significant amount of clean, renewable energy from waves, a recent article Wave Power Could Reduce Dependency on Oil that appeared in U.S. News and World report is an indication that there is increasing interest in wave and tidal energy.

Specifics and success stories are still hard to find. The article mentions several competing technologies and projects in Europe, including the Pelamis project in Portugal that was apparently abandoned in 2009, Aquamarine Power's Oyster, which is currently being tested in the waters off Scotland, and Checkmate Seaenergy's Anaconda, which has yet to be tested in the real world.

Commercialization may be closer in the U.S. In California, PG & E is planning to test up to four different technologies with its Wave Connect project in Humboldt County and is evaluating the potential for tidal energy in San Francisco Bay.

But Reedsport, Oregon may be the site of of the first commercial wave energy project on the West Coast. Surfrider Foundation is an active stakeholder in this project, which would be developed by Ocean Power Technologies.

Oregon's Big Buoy

A wave energy project off Reedsport, Oregon is slated to be the first such commercial scale project in the U.S. Surfrider Foundation has been participating as a formal stakeholder in the settlement process on behalf of recreation and conservation interests.

Two and a half years after a wave energy test buoy sank off Newport, the drive to harness energy from the ocean is heating up again with plans for at least one buoy to be deployed off Oregon's central coast before the year's end.

And there are hopes for a handful more not long after.

It's all part of Oregon's race to become a leader in wave energy technology, a competition that only three years ago threatened to deteriorate into a bitter battle pitting east coast developers against fishermen, surfers and others.

Many of them feared the buoys could harm fishing, recreation and tourism. But today, some say the situation exemplifies the spirit of collaboration and cooperation.

"Oregon has a lot to be proud of and a lot of people have shown a lot of leadership," Onno Husing, executive director of Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association. "We are literally helping to figure this out for the nation."

If that happens -- if Oregon wins the wave energy race and does it well -- proponents say it could someday mean $1 billion plus annually to the state,

Read More

Oregon State University deploys prototype wave buoy

See a prototype of a wave energy buoy bob up and down on the water's surface as researchers from Oregon State University study its efficacy.

Read Smithsonian article about OSU electrical engineer & wave energy researcher Annette von Jouanne.

Wave Energy Projects that interest the Surfrider Foundation

View Wave Energy Projects in a larger map

These are wave energy projects where the Surfrider Foundation is actively participating in project planning. This doesn't mean that we fully endorse the proposed project but we are following their progress and providing input.

Click on the symbol to see project name and FERC docket number. The FERC docket number can be used to find up to date information on the permit status for that project.

Click here to look up the docket number: http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/docket_search.asp

Senator Merkley holds Oregon Wave Energy Roundtable

Newport, OR – Wave energy can help lead Oregon and America into the clean energy economy however the trade offs and unknowns of the environmental impacts, regulation and technology take a careful approach of adaptive management and stakeholder dialogue.

That was one of the conclusions reached at a roundtable conversation organized by Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today at the Hatfield Marine Science Center. The discussion of how Oregon can help pioneer a clean energy economy was at the forefront of the roundatable discussion.

"Wave energy has serious potential to become a huge clean energy source for the Oregon coast and help boost the local economy," Merkley said. "But it has to be developed in partnership with local communities, and in a manner that is in harmony with the fishing industry, ocean users and coastal ecosystems."

Roundtable participants included:

Dr. George Boehlert, Professor of Marine Fisheries and Director of Hatfield Marine Science Center
Bob Eder, Vice-Chair of Newport’s Fishermen Involved in Natural Energy Committee (FINE) and fishing representative for Oregon Wave Energy Trust
Paul Klarin, Marine Affairs Coordinator, Oregon Department of Land Conservation & Development
Dr. Robert Paasch of Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center
Dr. Merrick Haller of Oregon State University's Wave Energy Engineering
Robin Hartmann of Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition
Nik Furman of the Dungeness Crab Commission Pat Ashby of Tillamook People's Utility District
Ken Rhinefrank of Columbia Power Technologies
Len Bergstein of Ocean Power Technologies
Charlie Plybon Oregon Field Coordinator for Surfrider Foundation.

Is the wave energy "gold rush" over?

As a result of numerous challenges ranging from the experimental nature of the technology, uncertainty about regulatory requirements and environmental consequences, and lack of available funding, wave energy developers have abandoned about 1/3 of the wave energy projects proposed along the West Coast.

Read more here.

Check out the Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) series on energy called The Switch.