Application Filed for First U.S. Commercial Wave Energy Project (50 MW OR)

[jpak]

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/home

Ocean Power Technologies (OPT), known for its PowerBuoy wave energy device, filed an application for construction permission to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a 50-megawatt (MW) wave power generation project in Oregon, the first request in the U.S. for such a power project on a utility-scale level.

As part of the initial program for the OPT Wave Park to be located at Reedsport, OR, the company expects to install its ocean-tested PowerBuoys approximately 2.5 miles off the coast at a depth of 50 meters initially generating a total of 2 MW. Approval for the full-scale 50 MW wave power plant will follow completion of the initial 2 MW program.

"This application to FERC represents a major step in the development of OPT's wave power projects in the U.S. for large-scale electricity generation," said George Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of OPT. "When completed, this plant will provide renewable power into the grid supplying the West Coast of the U.S."

The company has already consulted key stakeholder groups about its plans and will continue to work closely with these groups over the initial stages of the project. According to the company, a key strength of the PowerBuoy system is its compact nature and low visual impact.

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[skids]

1. It's the "wave of the future" harharhar.

Wave power is a very welcome addition to renewables in that it can provide baseline power with almost zero environmental impact -- less even than geothermal, biomass, or hydro.

[msongs]

2. are there waves at 50 meters under the ocean? or...currents?

sounds like a good idea tho, does it not?

Msongs
www.msongs.com/howarddean2008.htm

[skids]

3. The unit stays at the surface...

...50M is just the depth of the water where it's installed -- the stat is reported so people know how far out these can be placed.

(The unit is tethered to the seabed, or at least most are and I think this one too, though the sea sausages don't have to be tethered vertically -- they work without an anchor.)

[mopinko]

4. there are huge, harvestible currents

in the continental shelf zone.