(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



First Utility Scale Wave Power Test Site Starts Construction. [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-08-07  

Just heard from my State Rep, Dave Gomberg; construction of the first utility grade, grid connected wave energy testing site will begin next week in Oregon!

Excerpts from his press release:

[G]ood work of global consequence is happening every day at the research hub south of Newport. If we are going to address the climate challenge, ocean warming, acidification, fishing and energy, those advances will come from Hatfield, the Marine Science Center, NOAA and PacWave.

PacWaveSouth will be the first utility-scale, grid-connected wave energy test site in the U.S. When completed, PacWave will offer wave energy developers the opportunity to try different technologies for harnessing the power of ocean waves and transmitting that energy to the local electrical grid. The ocean test site will be on a sandy-bottomed stretch of the Pacific Ocean away from popular commercial and recreational fishing reefs about seven miles off the coast of Newport. The site will have four test berths, which combined can accommodate up to 20 wave energy devices at any one time.

Science is hard to see. But work on the OSU-led wave energy testing facility is likely to be visible to residents and visitors to the area in August. Teams aboard a 265-foot support vessel Seacor Lee anchored just off the coast and additional crews at the recreation site will inspect and prepare cable conduits for next summer’s planned installation of power and data cables.

They’re being careful and trying hard to deal with as many contingencies and interest groups as possible. Which takes time, (dammit).

OSU reports a long-term commitment to monitoring the environment, including acoustic conditions. The facility shouldn’t be making noise that would affect marine mammal life or be heard onshore. Another concern is entanglement. The devices are on taut tethers and anchors so it should be very hard for marine mammals to get tangled in them. Finally, the project is working with the commercial fishing industry. The PacWave facility is outside of established fishing areas. PacWave South is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, the state of Oregon and other public and private entities. Oregon State’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences is managing the construction and operation of the more than $80 million facility. The ship is scheduled to arrive on Monday at Yaquina Bay and then will make its way to the PacWave site just offshore several days later. Ocean energy is an issue of ongoing concern along the Oregon Coast. Please note that wave energy is different from wind energy and does not involve fields of large turbines. And remember that this is a testing facility and not an energy production zone.

So it won’t be up and running before next year, but it’s in the works and past the planning stage!

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/7/2185842/-First-Utility-Scale-Wave-Power-Test-Site-Starts-Construction

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/