The US Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding a $4 million matching grant to the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC) to create a world class, grid-connected ocean energy test facility off the Oregon Coast.
The testing area will an off-shore laboratory where wave energy devices can be essentially "plugged in" to the onshore electrical grid to test their capabilities.
Companies and policy makers say a full-scale, grid connected ocean test facility is needed to achieve industry commercialization.
"This grant, which will help establish a new ocean energy test facility in the Pacific Northwest, cements the role of Oregon State University and the State of Oregon in the forefront on wave energy research," says Oregon Senator Ron Wyden. "Oregon is well on its way to having world-class, off-shore testing facilities sought after by wave energy development companies from around the world."
Despite the recession and the difficult climate for investments in emerging technologies, many believe marine energy can begin supplying substantial power to grids around the world within a decade. The first tidal energy project is underway in Maine.
The predictablity of marine energy can offset the variability of solar and wind energy, making it a tantalizing new renewable resource.
NNMREC is one of three DOE-sponsored ocean energy centers in the US; it is a partnership between Oregon State University and the University of Washington.
The facility will offer:
- Unified industry and academic support, seen as important for maximizing financial support from public sector
- Centralized funding for infrastructure across several proposed wave energy technologies
- Accelerated information gathering, technology design and environmental impact analysis
- Standardized testing metrics for performance evaluation
- A means of limiting potential conflicts at test sites
- A training facility for future jobs in ocean energy
- An economical means for deploying and testing prototypes in the ocean
Oregon’s Starring Role in US Wave Energy
In August, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave Ocean Power Technologies (NASDAQ: OPTT) the first license in the US for a grid-connected wave energy project – a 1.5 megawatt wave power station off the Oregon coast.
The station, in Reedsport, Oregon, will host 10 of the company’s PowerBuoy wave energy devices, enough to power about 1,000 homes.
Although Ocean Power hoped to get its first buoy in place by the end of this year, the company recently decided to wait until spring 2013, even though tests are going well.
"Our partners and staff have worked very hard to enable completion of the buoy before the harsh Oregon winter sets in," says Charles Dunleavy, CEO of Ocean Power Technologies. "However, risk management plans for marine operations have to be sufficiently flexible to copy with changes in weather conditions, and safety concerns are paramount."
UK Activity Accelerates
This summer, the UK established its second marine energy park off the coast of Northern Scotland, the largest such development zone in the world.
Like the DOE-funded center in Oregon, The Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Energy Park is a center for companies to test and develop projects. Nine devices are currently being tested.
The Crown Estate has already awarded licences for 1.6 gigawatts (GW) there. The area is has the potential to generate 27 GW of energy by 2050.
The other marine park is South West Marine Energy Park, announced earlier this year, which already hosts many developers and initiatives.
Last April, the UK launched a $31.6 million contest to spur develoment of wave and tidal energy technologies.
China & Netherlands Cooperate
China and the Netherlands are conducting a 2-year feasiblity study that could result in 15 GW of hydrokinetic power off China’s coast within a decade, reports CleanBiz China.
The Dutch government is supporting its consortium, POWER (Partners Offering a Water Energy Revolution) with a $2.7 million grant and Chinese companies and research entities are participating.
Turbines will be inserted along a massive 30-km by 60-km T-shaped dam which would capture powerful tidal waves. Researchers say the huge dam would influence tidal patterns, producing high and low tides on either side. The water that passes through would produce "Dynamic Tidal Power."
Since the dam runs perpendicular to the coast it won’t block water from reaching estuaries, a criticism of other tidal designs.
"Dynamic Tidal Power has fewer environmental and social impacts than traditional tidal power, and it allows for larger plant sizes. It will become an important new type of renewable energy," says Dimitri de Boer, EU team leader for UN Industrial Development Organisation in China.
Learn more about developments in marine energy in this NY Times article:
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