9/7/12
After years of optimistic pronouncements, haggling with coastal residents and fishermen, and one project that landed in Davy Jones' locker, a new wave of Oregon's renewable energy experiment is taking shape off the coast.
Only time will tell whether this science project can gather momentum, or the necessary funding it will need to reach commercial viability.
In late August, researchers at Oregon State University launched the first of what they hope will be a fleet of wave energy devices at their new test bed two miles offshore of Yaquina Head.
The Wave Energy Technology-New Zealand or Wet-NZ buoy, has been bobbing lazily in the summers swells for two weeks, sending reams of data and a trickle of electricity via underwater umbilical to the Ocean Sentinel, a floating battery pack and data hub anchored nearby.
A five-week test will allow the prototype's owner, Northwest Energy Innovations, Inc., to gather performance data on the $750,000 prototype and its mooring system. The plan is to pluck the device out of the water before it meets the full fury of fall on the Oregon coast, then go on to develop a full-scale model.
OSU scientists are hovering nearby, dropping their hydrophones and related equipment into surrounding waters to measure the device's acoustic footprint, electromagnetic frequencies and impact on sea life, whether its bottom dwellers or migrating gray whales. Meanwhile, the Ocean Sentinel monitors the strength of wind waves and the current, in tandem with the power buoy's output.
"It's naive to think there will be no impact from these devices," said Belinda Batten, director Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center at OSU. "We can help answer some of those important questions."
OSU is one of three federally funded research centers addressing the technical, environmental and social challenges of wave and tidal energy. Established in 2008, its aim is to provide standardized facilities that commercial developers can use to deploy and test power buoys without a protracted siting process.
Wave buoys have been controversial on the coast, and the test site was chosen after two years of discussion with crabbers, fishermen, state agencies, wave energy developers and scientists.
For developers, the tests can provide crucial information on their devices' durability, efficiency in different wave conditions, and other maintenance issues and costs. The WetNZ is the first prototype moored at the Yaquina Head site. But the center hopes to score another $25 million from the U.S. Department of Energy for a second Oregon test zone with berths for four buoys -- this one fully connected to the electrical grid on land. Batten said she expects an answerin the next couple months, though it could depend on the election and congressional jockeying over spending cuts.
Meanwhile, the center says more tests will be forthcoming. There are myriad designs to maximize the extraction of the kinetic energy in waves. Some are for near shore deployment, others for deeper waters. Some float, others sit on the sea floor. Mechanical systems vary widely. Developers are looking to capture the most energy at the least cost. The answer may depend on location.
