Consortium Formed To Commercialize Ocean Wave Power

Leading the endeavor is AquaEnergy Group Ltd. of Mercer Island, Wash., owner and developer of ocean-tested technology to harvest power from ocean waves. The Makah Nation and Clallam County PUD are project participants, as is the Northwest Energy Innovation Center, made up of the Bonneville Power Administration, Energy Northwest, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Washington State University.

The consortium plans to invest seed money for initial permitting and development of the demonstration project. AquaEnergy expects to pay for construction through a combination of power sales, venture capital investments and grants.

The immediate goal is to install a 1 megawatt offshore wave energy power plant in the vicinity of Neah Bay, Wash. The energy converters consist of floating buoys moored in water 150 to 200 feet deep several miles off shore. The wave action moves the buoy up and down, which in turn creates a pumping action, producing pressurized seawater that then is directed into a turbine driving a conventional 1 megawatt electrical generator.

The 1 megawatt demonstration offshore power plant will consist of several buoys contained within a surface area of 260 x 130 feet and generate a yearly output of 1.6 gigawatt-hours.

The cost of this demonstration power plant is projected to be $1.5 to $2 million. Once developed on a commercial scale, large offshore power plants (over 100 megawatts) installation costs are projected to be competitive to the co-generation plants, with operational costs on par with the hydroelectric power production.

AquaEnergy is responsible for arranging funding for the project. The company also is one of the four finalists in a recent competition sponsored by British Columbia Hydro, Canada, to harvest energy from the waves on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

The Makah Nation is interested in owning, operating and expanding the offshore power plant, not only for the power and jobs the development might provide, but for the possibility of using such energy to desalinate water. Much of the Makah territory relies on surface water only.

Clallam PUD, based in Port Angeles, will purchase and take receipt of the power at the shoreline.

The Northwest Energy Innovation Center is based in Richland, Wash. The center is actively involved in a variety of renewable energy technologies, including ocean energy and solar tracking systems. The center was initially funded by a 450,000, three-year grant from the Bonneville Power Administration but is looking for additional financial partners.