'Sea Beav 1' shows potential for wave energy on Oregon Coast
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Renewable Energy Conference
The Oregon Wave Energy Trust is hosting the 3rd annual Ocean Renewable Energy Conference in Coos Bay next month on Sept. 25 & 26. The conference will cover all aspects of wave energy project development, as well as involve community leaders, developers, utilities, and regulators working to create a national model for ocean energy.
The conference will be held at the Mill Convention Center in Coos Bay, and the conference price is $150.
Interested parties can find out more, as well as register for the conference, at www.oregonwave.org. Event questions can be directed towards info@oregonwave.org.
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Campus scientists are set to go with a new test buoy that's about to hit the waters off the Oregon Coast.
When you get a room full of politicians, they usually do the talking. Tuesday at OSU, they asked the questions and learned about the latest in a new power source that someday could equal the hydro-electric dams in the Northwest.
Lawmakers are learning about wave energy test beds and "Sea Beav 1." OSU scientists have been researching wave energy for ten years.
The vision is for a system of buoys off the West Coast with equipment inside that generates electrical power. They're not talking about a token amount.
"Our wave energy resource is about equivalent to our entire hydro resource," said Annette Von Jouanne, OSU Professor of Electrical Engineering.
Last summer, they tested a buoy dubbed "Sea Beav 1" off the coast near Newport. The next test buoy hits the water very soon in a joint venture between OSU and Columbia Power Technology.
"We have tremendous potential off the Oregon Coast. We have these waves that have been building up all the way across the Pacific," Von Jouanne said.
But it's not without controversy. Power buoy zones would conflict with fishing and crabbing areas. Commercial fishermen say this would affect their livelihoods.
Von Jouanne says it's going to take cooperation.
"For wave energy to be successful in the world's oceans, we need to collaborate with the industries, the people who are already successful in the world's oceans," said Von Jouanne.
However, with Governor Ted Kulongoski's push for renewable energy development, Oregon is being touted as the prime location for the nation's first commercial wave energy parks.
Experts at OSU say close to 11 percent of U.S. energy could someday be supplied by wave energy.
A proposed wave energy plant near Reedsport is still set to go. The first commercial power buoy will go on line next summer, with nine additional buoys the summer of 2010. Ocean Power Technologies is in charge of the development.
