Beaver Island is already taking the first steps to test wave energy in its waters

A project off the coast of Beaver Island could harness the power of Lake Michigan’s waves to generate renewable energy.

Currently, about 600 inhabitants of the island draw energy year-round from an underwater cable and diesel generators.

However, the community has been working on renewable energy for some time. For example, in 2022, it was one of 12 remote communities to receive Department of Energy grants to identify renewable energy and energy efficiency opportunities and is also exploring community solar energy.

Currently, a team from the University of Michigan is working with Beaver Island residents to develop a wave energy converter for the island.

Wave energy converters use the movement of water to generate electricity. The research team will spend the next few years developing a prototype to be installed in the waters off the island.

Xiaofan Li, who leads the research team, said the prototype will eventually become part of a microgrid. And while it’s not expected to generate much energy, his team hopes it will pave the way for similar projects in remote and underdeveloped coastal communities.

“So in this project, we will comprehensively consider both the technical impact and the environmental impact, as well as the opinions of the local community,” Li said. “We will gather all the information and design something specifically for the Beaver Island community.”

There are many different converter models. Some use buoys that bob on the surface of the water, and others use oscillating panels.

There are also many obstacles to implementing this technology. First, the water reservoirs in which these converters operate are often characterized by difficult environments, making their development expensive and risky for investors.

“Designing these technologies to efficiently use energy from waves while still being able to withstand some of the extreme conditions they will face is extremely difficult,” said Craig Hill, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota Duluth. “Right now, the energy cost for these wave energy converters is much higher than for some other renewable sources that are gaining increasing interest around the world.”

Given these factors, the Great Lakes could become a testing ground for this technology.

“It’s nothing like what the coastal United States or oceans will have, but at least today, given the scale of research and construction of wave energy converters, they actually have really good wave energy resources,” Hill said.

Hill is among those working on converting wave energy in the Great Lakes. He also believes that the industry can change as well; noted that an important marine energy conference will be held in the Great Lakes region this summer. (Usually alternates between the East and West coasts.)

Meanwhile, a University of Michigan team is working with residents to incorporate social and environmental factors into the Beaver Island project, and researchers hope it will ultimately serve as a model for other coastal communities.

“When we talk about co-design and collaborative community development, we don’t just mean one specific community,” said Professor Lei Zuo, who is part of the research team. “It’s more like the end user.”

This summer, the university will contribute $10,000 to efforts to find the best site for the project on the island.

This week, the team will be demonstrating various wave energy converters at the Beaver Island Sustainability Show.