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Plans for nation's largest wave energy project scrapped

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Plans for nation's largest wave energy project scrapped

Unread postby Loki » Mon 03 Mar 2014, 22:20:41

Wave Energy Developer Pulls Plug On Oregon Project

Developers have scrapped their plans to build the nation’s first large-scale wave energy project off the Oregon Coast, saying the costs were too high to make it work.

The much-anticipated project would have placed a flotilla of 100 energy-producing buoys, each the size of a school bus, in the waves off the coast of Reedsport, Ore.

The project’s developer, Ocean Power Technologies, surrendered its preliminary permit with the federal government, Oregon regulators disclosed Monday.

The project generated national headlines in the run-up to its planned launch in October, 2012. But after it delayed the deployment of its first buoy, the project seemed to be stuck on hold. ...

Kevin Watkins is the Pacific Northwest representative for Ocean Power Technologies. He said developing wave energy and implementing it on a large scale just became too expensive and too complicated.

Watkins also noted a difficult regulatory process, involving both state and federal regulations.

“The technical challenges, the operational challenges, coordinating with all the stakeholders including the state and federal agencies … it’s just taking longer than OPT had predicted,” Watkins said.

The company still plans a smaller project in the same area with 10 smaller buoys, beginning the summer of 2015.


Company was planning for a 100 MW project. They've had a number of technical and financial problems the last couple years. Also met a lot of resistance from locals, particularly crab fishermen.

The smaller project mentioned above is projected to generate 15 MW, not even a rounding error when it comes to regional capacity.
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Re: Plans for nation's largest wave energy project scrapped

Unread postby AndyA » Mon 03 Mar 2014, 23:08:29

Good
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Re: Plans for nation's largest wave energy project scrapped

Unread postby Newfie » Mon 03 Mar 2014, 23:10:24

There have been a variety of approaches to using wave or tidal energy, none of which have worked.

A few years ago a company put in a test turbine in the Gulf of Main, Bay of Fundy region. It worked for a few weeks then stopped. When they investigated they found it had been essentially torn apart. Massive failure. 8O
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Re: Plans for nation's largest wave energy project scrapped

Unread postby Loki » Mon 03 Mar 2014, 23:50:52

A quick perusal of wave energy projects around the world to date isn't terribly encouraging. Itsy bitsy drop in the bucket.

In other news, a Seattle company is still going forward with a 30 MW offshore wind energy project in southern Oregon, the first offshore wind facility on the West Coast:

The pilot project will be developed by Seattle-based Principle Power using floating wind turbine technology that has not been deployed in U.S. waters but is in use or under development in Europe and Asia.

The Oregon facility would be 15 miles from shore, in about 1,400 feet of water. The turbines would be connected by electrical cables and have a single power cable transmitting electricity to the mainland.

Several offshore projects are in the works on the Atlantic coast, but they don't use floating platform technology. Instead, they are anchored to the seabed.

Experts say the West Coast has not yet seen offshore wind projects because the technology needs are different.

The ocean gets deeper more quickly on the West Coast, so turbine towers cannot be planted directly into the seabed, said Belinda Batten, director of the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center at Oregon State University.

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/i ... s_bay.html
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Re: Plans for nation's largest wave energy project scrapped

Unread postby kiwichick » Tue 04 Mar 2014, 12:32:17

meanwhile carnegie wave energy is full steam ahead

first demonstration project on track for start up in Q 2 2014 off the West Australian coast with 4 more sites identified

www.carnegiewave.com
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Re: Plans for nation's largest wave energy project scrapped

Unread postby ROCKMAN » Tue 04 Mar 2014, 13:39:25

Kiwi - Hopefully they aren't steaming full speed ahead as the HMS Titanic.
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Re: Plans for nation's largest wave energy project scrapped

Unread postby kiwichick » Tue 04 Mar 2014, 18:44:06

@ rok

all below the water
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Re: Plans for nation's largest wave energy project scrapped

Unread postby rollin » Tue 04 Mar 2014, 22:44:49

All because of that stupid light bulb built by that guy from Jersey. Next came electric motors,, washing machines, refrigerators, radios, TV's, computers, remote controls, garage door openers, electric heat, thousands of medical machines. You name it, we use electricity for it.
Who would have thought that that one invention would spawn a whole new way of life?

No wonder people are trying to figure our ways to make electricity, it's very useful stuff and makes life a lot more livable -for humans anyway.

Since when does anyone expect new type systems to be foolproof?
It all takes time and a number of failures. Remember, making a successful light bulb took many tries and making a successful airplane did too. Wind power had terrible initial problems, now it is fairly reliable and much more efficient. Solar panels have steadily grown in efficiency and dramatically lowered in cost, but it took many years. Early solar panels were way too expensive to be practical. Now light bulbs are very efficient and nothing like the original. Give new systems some time, they may just work out.
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Re: Plans for nation's largest wave energy project scrapped

Unread postby Loki » Wed 05 Mar 2014, 02:20:22

I don't know the details of this project aside from what I've read/heard in the media, but I suspect finances killed it. Wave energy is still in the experimental stage, and it doesn't help that there was a massive financial crisis and associated drying up of credit.

Still, even if the project went through, 100 MW is not much. I'd guess putting the capital toward rooftop solar would have been a better investment.
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Re: Plans for nation's largest wave energy project scrapped

Unread postby PrestonSturges » Thu 06 Mar 2014, 02:11:03

I always wondered about the durability of these things, because ocean waves can move boulders the size of small apartment buildings.

We were poking around on a sandbar island in the middle of the river one day and found a v8 engine block that the river had put there. Such is the power of water.
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Re: Plans for nation's largest wave energy project scrapped

Unread postby kiwichick » Thu 06 Mar 2014, 13:18:44

thats why it's best to have a simple system totally below sea level

Carnegie to be operational in Q2 2014 off West Australia
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Re: Plans for nation's largest wave energy project scrapped

Unread postby Graeme » Fri 07 Mar 2014, 16:47:53

I've been promoting OTEC in this thread. This project may be a better prospect.

Feasibility Study for World's First US-Based Commercial OTEC Plant and Sea Water Air Conditioning (SWAC) Systems in USVI

Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation (OTE) is moving forward with a study to evaluate the feasibility and potential benefits to the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) of installing on-shore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) renewable energy power plants and Seawater Air Conditioning (SWAC) facilities. This announcement comes on the heels of June 2013 headlines that OTE and DCNS, a world leader in naval defense and an innovative player in energy, signed a MOU to jointly develop and build OTEC and SWAC systems globally in a variety of selected markets, including USVI.

The benefits to be assessed in the USVI study by both partners stem from both the baseload (24/7) clean electricity generated by OTEC, as well as the various related products associated with OTEC and SWAC, including abundant fresh drinking water, energy-saving air conditioning, sustainable aquaculture and mariculture, and agricultural enhancement projects for the Islands of St Thomas and St Croix. Costs of the study will not be borne by USVI.

The Honorable Shawn-Michael Malone, President of the USVI Senate, commented on his signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) authorizing OTE's feasibility study. "The most fundamental duty of government is to protect the health and welfare of its citizens," said Senator Malone. "These clean energy technologies have the potential to improve the air quality and environment for our residents, and to provide the foundation for meaningful economic development. Therefore, it is our duty as elected representatives to explore the feasibility and possible benefits of OTEC and SWAC for the people of USVI."


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Re: Plans for nation's largest wave energy project scrapped

Unread postby kiwichick » Fri 07 Mar 2014, 19:44:14

@ ps

suggest you check out what they are doing

that way you won't look so silly
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