Smart Grid Takes Another Dip in the Ocean with Wave Power

Last month we brought you conclusions from a Pike Research report that had good and bad things to say about the future of wave power. It added up to a whole lot of ifs: if the regulatory environment is right, if the technological challenges of maintenance, transmission and distribution could be met, if it doesn't cost too much, etcetera.

 

This story is about a company dedicated to proving wave power will be a valuable addition to the Smart Grid and our energy future.

 

A New Jersey company has ambitious plans to install buoys at two locations along the southern Oregon coast to tap ocean waves as a green, renewable energy source.

 

It would be hard to argue about the location: Oregon coast waves are typically raucous and plentiful. Surfers routinely take advantage of them, despite the incredibly cold Pacific water.

 

New Jersey-based Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) thinks so, too.

 

The company has asked for a permit to deploy 10 buoys (like the one pictured here) that would provide enough electricity to power 375 homes — and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is asking for public comment on the proposed pilot project now.

 

The buoys would be deployed about 2.5 miles off the coast, near the small town of Gardiner, in an area measuring about 1,300 feet by 1,000 feet. The buoys would be mostly under water. They would extend 115 feet below the surface, anchored by anchor cables, and about 30 feet above the surface. A submarine transmission cable would hook up with a land-based transmission line owned by a local electric cooperative.

 

OPT describes the buoys as "based on the integration of patented technologies in hydrodynamics, electronics, energy conversion and computer control systems." The company describes the buoys as a "smart" system capable of reacting to changing wave conditions.

 

And because so little of the buoy extends above the surface of the water, they wouldn't be visible from shore.

 

While there's considerable doubt about the value of wave power (call it hydrokinetic energy to impress your friends) and its cost effectiveness, OPT has a hard-charging attitude about it.

 

Not only is the company also proposing a much larger commercial-scale wave park near Coos Bay to the south, it also is involved in partnerships with Spain's extremely green Iberdrola, considered to be the world's largest renewable energy provider.

 

OPT also has similar projects in England and Scotland. Another pilot buoy deployment at Kaneohe Bay in Oahu, Hawaii, is a demonstration project for the U.S. Marines and the Navy. The military wants to see if the buoys can help reduce fossil fuel use at its bases.

 

Of course there are challenges, more than we mentioned in the introduction. As in any siting and permitting process, environmental impact and other related issues need to be addressed, not to mention the ever-present NIMBY. Still, we can't help but think: Hey, these guys are serious. Give it a shot.

 

From the source ...

News-Review

Ocean Power Technologies Web site

 

Related SGN resources ...

Ocean Power? Maybe, But It's Still a Long Way From the Smart Grid

DG & Renewables

 

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