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Newport chosen to be site for new “live” wave energy test site offshore

Jan 142013

PMEC graphic

Oregon State University has chosen an ocean site several miles off Newport to base a grid-connected test device for prospective wave energy devices.

OSU officials said Newport was chosen over a site off Reedsport due to closeness to major ocean science facilities, easy route from the at-sea site back to the beach and convenient connection to the statewide electrical grid. And Newport’s local commercial fishing industry supported it.

OSU officials say the Newport area will pick up a number of family wage jobs by being selected. The wave energy test project is also expected to acquire additional grants and funding sources over the next few years.

The test and grid-connected site will be a critical component in determining whether certain wave energy devices live up to the performance claims of their manufacturers. Such test results are expected to weigh heavily in future discussions that will lead to certifying which specific wave energy technologies perform at a level deemed worthwhile to occupy precious space off designated areas of the Oregon Coast.

OSU officials said by locating the test site off Newport, already an emerging world class oceans science center, it will help Oregon State University remain in the forefront in wave energy research. OSU’s non-grid connected testing device, the Sentinel, will also continue it’s testing operations off Yaquina Head.

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Where future wave energy devices are destined to be placed along the Oregon Coast is still very clouded.

Dec 072012

Salishan Resort, Member David Allen, also member of OPAC, Priorities of Wave Energy Placements, lower numbers mean higher ranksings

Where future wave energy devices are to be placed, whether on the surface or on the ocean floor, is still very much unknown even after the final meeting of those trying to make such recommendations. Oregon’s Territorial Sea Plannning Committee (TSP) wrapped up five years of hard work at trying to find places along the Oregon Coast where the budding wave energy industry can test and ultimately position their wave energy devices to help meet the country’s green energy goals set by the federal government.

Mirroring discussions earlier last month in Newport, top location candidates decided by TSP members Thursday are in order of importance; 1-Camp Rialea at Warrenton, 2-Lakeside (Coos County), 3-Reedsport at a near-shore location, 4-Langlois (south of Reedsport), 5-Pacific City/Nestucca, 6-Newport (north of Yaquina Head), 7-Gold Beach and 8-Netarts in Tillamook County.

Committee member, commercial fisherman and Lincoln County Commissioner Terry Thompson strenuously protested Newport still being in the running for a wave energy development site. Thompson said the Lincoln County coastline has already had fishing areas removed to accomodate marine reserve study areas along with other withdrawals in addition to having already committed to withdrawing more good crabbing areas to make way for an OSU wave energy testing area off South Beach. Thompson said to add more areas for fishing grounds withdrawals is unacceptable.

However, Thompson was not the only representative of a coastal community decrying what’s been described as the “forced accommodating of potential wave energy sites” by state officials. TSP representatives from the Port of Coos Bay strongly complained that they were on the chopping block to lose three or four lucrative fishing areas to future wave energy operations and that such losses for them are also unacceptable.

Discussions then centered around the idea that none of Oregon’s deep water ports should have to cough up more than two locations. Thompson piped up again saying that what matters is which area’s have already given up their fair share of fishing areas.

In a move that could be interpreted as Newport being thrown under the bus, a majority of the committee voted that there should be no more than two lost areas to each of the three deep water ports, Astoria, Newport and Coos Bay. Since Newport is counting on OSU’s proposed test site off South Beach to count as one of those sites, it could technically mean that Newport could lose at least one or maybe even two more fishing areas to energy development depending on how higher ranking state officials view the political calculus. Further complicating the politics is that the OSU site is tentatively expected to be placed beyond the three mile limit of the Territorial Sea which is far better suited for wave energy testing.

Other discussions produced an observation that when wave energy companies begin applying for permits to put their devices in the water, they may prefer some areas over others which could further cloud the issue by clumsily violating the effort to spread the pain equally among the coast’s three major ports.

So, in the end, the Territorial Sea Planning Committee (TSP) generally agreed to ranking target areas (listed above) that will be passed on to the next review panel, the Ocean Policy Advisory Committee (OPAC). OPAC, of which TSP member and Newport City Councilor David Allen (pictured) is a member, will review the TSP report, take further public testimony, and then make its own recommendations to the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC). The LCDC will review it all again and decide how all this should work out. From there the final configuration would be wrapped into in a bill and be given to the legislature to make the final plan part of state statutes regulating Oregon’s territorial waters. But before the legislature finalizes anything, the proposed plan will be presented and publicly debated in legislative committees, passed by the state house and senate, and then would have to be signed by the governor before it could become law. And, of course, in these litigious times, if any industry or other group isn’t happy with the results or believed their needs or interests were trampled, they could file a lawsuit and possibly tie the plan up for years.

Hovering over this uncertainty is the shadow of the federal government which has plans of its own to allow wave AND wind energy development in federal waters from just beyondOregon’s territorial three mile limit out to 12 miles. There are enormous sums of money to be made in green energy development requiring large subsidies from the federal government to make wind and wave energy pencil out in order to reduce the country’s over-reliance on fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. These mountainous subsidies allow wind and wave energy projects to turn a profit because the power generated by wave and wind devices is very costly. Although they work, their cost per kilowatt hour of energy is many times that of hydroelectric dams, coal and natural gas power plants.

Critics contend that the whole process should slow down long enough for research and development to produce wave energy devices that can produce power at much lower cost thereby reducing federal subsidies, especially in an era of calls, if not shouting, to reduce the nation’s budget deficit. State and local officials who have participated in Oregon’s Territorial Sea Planning saga over the past five years say it’s highly unlikely that any wave energy company will be applying for a permit to launch their energy devices off the Oregon Coast for another seven to ten years. They have much more designing and testing to do before they can fire them up.

Therefore nobody is predicting that any of today’s commercial, sports or recreational fishing will be changing much over that time even if future research and development eventually produces more cost-effective wave energy devices and brings down costs to something more reasonable requiring lower or no federal subsidies.

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Newport’s Wave Energy Research Advisory Committee working toward pinpointing offshore research site

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Nov 272012

Lincoln County Courthouse, Newport PMEC siting committee

A Newport advisory committee hoping to win a wave energy test site for Newport, laid out their cards for what they hope will be a winning hand when Oregon State University decides where to locate its wave energy testing site off the Oregon Coast.

The committee, made up of local fishermen, educators, scientists, local government leaders, a power company executive, economic development promoters and others, strategized how to beat out Reedsport for the prize of having OSU’s Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC) being located off Newport.

Oregon State University’s PMEC is in the process of choosing an offshore site to set up a wave energy testing station which will put a number of internationally developed wave energy devices through their paces by scientifically measuring their ability to generate power from wave motion as well as survive the vicious pounding of Pacific storms.

The Newport group was presented with a proposed site south of the Newport jetties and between five and six miles offshore. The area is said to be ideally suited for testing under conditions sought by wave energy device designers; having a sandy bottom and between 100 and 150 feet deep. The area is also well situated for routing power cables from the devices to energy grid connections on shore.

Despite the area being good Dungeness Crab habitat, fishermen say they are willing to let it go for testing, especially if it’ll stop any further fishing ground withdrawals for wave energy production off the Lincoln County coast. The fishermen, belonging to the group Fishermen Interested in Renewable Energy (FINE) said between marine reserves and other protected areas that ban commercial and recreational fishing, Lincoln County has given up nearly 20% of of it’s territorial seas, far more than any other section of the Oregon Coast.

In a letter written by the Lincoln County Commission to Governor John Kitzhaber commissioners said the site supported by FINE and other fishing interests was the result of collaborating with Dr. Belinda Batten, Director of OSU’s Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center. Commissioners said that Dr. Batten provided valuable input that enabled FINE to delineate the site for PMEC that meets key logistical features that OSU needs to optimize their research program.

However, Toledo Mayor Ralph Grutzmacher suggested the group not settle for the solitary site offered up by FINE but rather do a wider analysis of possible sites based on bottom characteristics and depths. The idea received a cool reception from many on the committee but was nonetheless included as a topic of discussion during the next committee meeting.

The group also talked about the search for Newport area facilities that could provide space for the creation of an OSU PMEC Visitors Center, office space for OSU scientists and private wave energy specialists and for additional warehouse or fabrication space for wave energy manufacturers.

The group is in competition with Reedsport for the creation of PMEC’s offshore test site as well as headquarters for the PMEC testing operation and support facilities. A decision by OSU is expected just after the first of the year.

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Look out Governor Kitzhaber – Coast residents are fighting mad over “ocean grab” by state bureaucrats

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Nov 092012

Tillamook, Thursday night
Tillamook County Futures Council

Growing heartburn among Lincoln County residents has spread north to Tillamook and south to Coos Bay and beyond as more people find out about the state’s plans to remove large tracks of fishing grounds along the Oregon Coast. Tillamook residents rose up angrily Thursday to challenge what they called kicking out commercial and recreational fishing with its hundreds of millions of dollars in annual economic benefits for a few paltry electrical jobs for those monitoring offshore wave energy machines.

Besides deeply wounding the Oregon Coast fishing industry, residents charged that offshore wave energy would ruin views of the ocean, disrupt whale migrations and severely damage the coast’s tourism industry. And what really made them upset was that the Territorial Sea Plan pursued by Governor Kitzhaber’s staff and ocean policy committee, along with the State Land Conservation and Development Commission, have been putting it together largely outside of the public eye.

Lincoln County Commissioner and commercial fisherman Terry Thompson told the Tillamook County Futures Council that although the territorial sea plan, aimed at accommodating wave energy generation, has been in the making for nearly four years, a map with specific locations for offshore wave energy devices did not materialize until a few weeks ago. Thompson said it leaves the public with little time to even look it over, much less react to it or make recommendations.

Many residents told the gathering they were shocked. They called it a “rush job” based on priorities they couldn’t imagine to be so important that it would justify damaging the economy of the Oregon Coast, including general tourism, commercial and recreational fishing and local property values. “With those economic sectors hammered, the coast’s economy would collapse,” one angry resident told News Lincoln County. “And for what?” he questioned. “To line the pockets of east coast investors who would get huge federal subsidies while selling expensive electricity to California to the detriment of the Oregon Coast? This is crazy.”

Other residents questioned why the state is in such a hurry to force fishermen to give up more fishing areas. One Territorial Sea Plan presenter said that Governor John Kitzhaber’s staff wants to get the plan in the hands of the legislature in plenty of time to adopt it next spring. He said Kitzhaber’s staff warned that if Oregon doesn’t hurry up and get its nearshore ocean plan formulated, the federal government will do it for us. He said federal officials want to explore putting large wind energy farms off the coast, beyond Oregon’s three mile limit. Several residents lamented that such a scene out on the ocean would ruin their precious views of the coast and the sea.

Senator Betsy Johnson

State Senator Betsy Johnson, after witnessing the unfolding situation, told the 80+ residents in attendance that she is deeply troubled by what she saw and heard. She said she will call Governor John Kitzhaber’s office in the morning and express her deep concern over what’s happening. Senator Johnson also said she was going to immediately begin discussions with the “Coastal Caucus,” made up of Oregon Coast state senators and representatives. She said she wants to put a spotlight on the territorial sea planning process and to slow it down so the coastal economy doesn’t get run over. She said, “It appears that certain bureaucrats in Salem are usurping the voice of the people of Oregon. And that upsets me.”

FINE organization commercial fishermen, Newport, earlier this week

Earlier this week in Newport, a group of perplexed commercial fishermen were trying to comply with state orders that they designate which fishing areas they would be willing to sacrifice in order to place wave energy devices off Lincoln County. Fishermen said it would be hard to find such spots since “We fish all over.” They also complained that they have already been kicked out of three large stretches of ocean to make way for Oregon Marine Reserve research areas. They said Lincoln County has already given up valuable fishing areas for marine research and wave energy testing areas. “We’ve already done our part for this process,” one fisherman observed.

House Rep. Jean Cowan

Meanwhile, State Representative Jean Cowan remarked at the Newport meeting that the whole territorial sea planning process seems to be putting the cart before the horse. Cowan said, “Nobody even knows if the wave energy industry can build devices that can make electricity that is affordable, without requiring massive federal subsidies, as are required for the continued operation of wind energy turbines up and down the Columbia Gorge.” Others in the room also remarked that being forced to set aside large tracts of Oregon’s nearshore ocean, for an unproven technology, seems wrong headed at the least.

We’ll see what Senator Johnson gets as a reaction from the governor’s office. Senator Johnson told News Lincoln County that Governor Kitzhaber has been inundated with many big issues including Oregon Health Care reform and fighting the continued recession which might help explain why the territorial sea plan has either been a lower priority for him or just something that slipped by, under his radar.

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More wave energy test sites contemplated off the Oregon coast

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Aug 262012

Courtesy graphic
Hatfield Marine Science Center

Add big ocean waves to the list of Oregon’s natural resources of growing trees and food. Oregon’s big waves are fully capable of producing a lot of electricity for an ever growing public demand for power. And thanks to government grants and other subsidies, the private sector is cranking out a kaleidoscope of wave energy generators, all of which need to be tested under real ocean conditions.

According to researchers, waters off Reedsport, Newport and other coastal areas may soon see more testing stations providing private wave energy companies with the data they need to see if their research works in the real world, not just in a tank inside a building.

The quest for these testing stations and what they may portend for other users of the ocean is found in this story in the Coos Bay World. Click here.

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OSU’s “Ocean Sentinel” off Yaquina Head – Crankin’ Away!

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Aug 222012

OSU’s Ocean Sentinel, off Yaquina Head

Oregon State University has put its money where it’s inquiring mind is by floating a wave energy testing device in the ocean, about two miles northwest of Yaquina Head. The device, called the “Ocean Sentinel,” will be connected one at a time to an array of different prototypes of wave energy devices to measure their electrical output based on any and all wave and weather conditions Mother Nature can throw at it. And that includes the Oregon Coast’s fifty foot waves during the winter.

Oregon State University researchers and scientists say it’s critical that the testing reveal which designs work and which ones don’t. Many wave energy start-up companies want neutral third parties, like college and universities, to verify and provide documentation that each device does what it’s supposed to do. Investors certainly want those kinds of assurances.

Here’s more on the story from Oregon State University. Click here.

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Feds give preliminary green light for offshore “energy farm” off Reedsport. Crab fishermen very wary of their crabbing grounds.

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Aug 212012

Courtesy photos: OPT Wave Energy testing off Scotland

In a first for the United States, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has given a tentative green light for a Scotland company to begin taking steps to create what may be a 30 acre wave energy farm off Reedsport. It’s proposed energy output would light up roughly 1,000 homes, that is, if the offshore energy park actually works. The FERC said their initial approval allows only testing in the area about three miles off Reedsport, testing to accurately determine whether OPT’s bobbing buoy design produces the power that the company claims it will.

While it seems that the world is talking more and more green energy, Oregon coastal fishermen, especially commercial fishermen, are questioning what price is too high to pay for green energy when it threatens the very existence of Oregon’s fishing industry.

The story is in the Coos Bay World. Click here.

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OSU wave energy tester craft “Ocean Sentinel” floated today Toledo to Newport – Journey continues Sunday to area off Yaquina Head

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Aug 172012

Ocean Sentinel being tugged Toledo to Newport on Yaquina River
Click on photos to enlarge

Riding a high tide Sunday afternoon, a tug pulled the Oregon State University wave energy testing device called the “Ocean Sentinel” from Toledo down to Newport where it will be prepared for the second phase of its premier journey to a spot off Yaquina Head. There it will be anchored to the bottom and will be readied to begin testing a new wave energy generating device belonging to a New Zealand energy company called WET-NZ.

Commercial wave energy companies all over the world are trying to come up with proven wave energy designs that work, and work verifiably and reliably. For that they turn to disinterested third parties like universities and colleges that have substantial credibility as testing entities. Wave energy devices are placed in a particular region of the ocean and feed their electrical output to OSU’s Ocean Sentinel which records not only the amount of energy a device generates, but also under what kinds of wind, temperature and wave conditions. So if a particular design is certified as having reached a certain level of performance, it can make those claims more credibly to private firms or utilities in their sales information.

OSU Sea Grant’s Kaety Hildenbrand says such third-party testing is a relatively new phenomenon in the wave energy industry. She says there are just a handful around the world. She says OSU’s Ocean Sentinel will be towed under the Yaquina Bay Bridge early Sunday morning and hauled out to a spot a couple miles northwest of Yaquina Head. Soonafter it will be married up with the New Zealand wave energy device and begin testing its electrical output – the first client to use OSU’s new wave energy testing service.

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Major sea wave energy development company scaling back operations off Oregon Coast?

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Nov 032011

Aquamarine’s latest wave energy generator

November 4: See Update below

Scotland-based Aquamarine Company has issued a news release that may signal that push is coming to shove as Oregon continues its investigations into how many offshore ocean wave energy devices it may allow to be placed out there, where and under what conditions. In a letter to the news media, local outreach coordinator for Aquamarine Theresa Wisner said her company’s efforts to set up a wave energy testing site have been slowed by the state’s pursuit of it’s Territorial Sea Plan. Those conducting that plan have been taking considerable public testimony on wave energy potential off the Oregon Coast, some of it somewhat critical of the wave energy industry as it might complicate human access to recreation activities, wildlife habitat and whale migration issues. Testimony has also been recorded by those who are anxious to realize the local economic development potential of the emerging international wave energy industry.

In her letter, Wisner said, “In order to allow (Oregon’s) Territorial Sea Plan to conclude its work before Aquamarine Power continues its site selection process in Oregon, the company will be reducing activities in the State for the near future.” Wisner goes on to say that Aquamarine will still be maintaining its interest in Oregon as their own Aquamarine Sea Plan process continues.

Update: Oregon Coastal Zone Management Agency’s Onno Husing said that he notes that Aquamarine has been clear that they are still interested in pursuing their investigation of suitable wave energy sites. He said Oregon’s Territorial Sea Plan is in the home stretch of being completed. He said the planning process has been fairly lengthy but that it’s important to do a thorough job of assessing ocean resources along the Oregon Coast so that when financial investments are made that they’re made with the best knowledge of regulatory conditions that exist, or may exist in the near future. Husing said he expects Aquamarine to continue to be a significant participant in Oregon’s emerging wave energy research and production industry.

In a recent post to Aquamarine’s website, the company announced the receipt of grants from the state to ascertain wave energy potential along the Oregon Coast:

We are currently exploring the potential to site a small number of Oyster wave energy devices off the west coast of the USA.

Our US team is based in Newport, Oregon. Our team has been reaching out to local communities along the west coast, along with other key stakeholders and state agencies, to seek views on suitable locations to site a small number of Oyster wave energy devices. We have been particularly focusing our research on Oregon because of its extensive wave resource.

In August 2011 we were awarded a $100,000 matching grant by the Oregon Wave Energy Trust (OWET) to gather data on the wave energy potential of the sea along Oregon’s coast.

The grant is for Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) installation. The ADCPs will measure the wave energy resource at a number of points along the Oregon coast. This is an essential first step in finding areas suitable for wave power projects.

Our goal is to find a potential location for the installation of a demonstration array of three Oyster wave energy devices which we aim to install by 2016. We will match OWET’s grant with $100,000 of our own funds.

This follows the award of a $50,000 matching feasibility grant to Aquamarine Power USA by OWET in November 2010.

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Oregon proposes to approve big wave energy farm off Reedsport

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Oct 122011

Ocean Power Technologies photo

Oregon state regulators are proposing to approve a large wave energy farm that is expected to take up thirty acres of ocean surface about 2 and a half miles off Reedsport. Already the commercial and charter fishing community is lining up against the proposal saying it could alter whale and salmon migration and interfere with traditional fishing areas off the coast.

The story is in the Oregonian. Click here.

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