Beaver Island Takes First Steps to Test Wave Energy in Its Waters

By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio

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

Currently, the island’s approximately 600 permanent residents obtain electricity from an underwater cable and diesel generators.

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

Currently, a team of researchers from the University of Michigan is working with the residents of Beaver Island 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 be part of a microgrid. And while it’s not expected to generate much power, his team hopes it will pave the way for similar projects in remote and underserved coastal communities.

“In this project, we will comprehensively consider both technical and environmental impacts and 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 models of converters. Some use buoys that bob on the water’s surface, while others use oscillating panels.

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

“Designing these technologies to both efficiently harness wave energy and also be able to withstand some of the extreme conditions that they’re going to have to deal with is incredibly challenging,” said Craig Hill, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota Duluth. “Right now, the cost of energy for these wave energy converters is just so much higher than some of the other renewable energy sources that we’re seeing around the world.”

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

“It’s nothing like what the coastlines of the United States or the oceans are going to have, but at least today, given the scale of wave energy converters that are being run and built, we have a really good wave energy resource,” Hill said.

Hill is among those working on wave-energy conversion in the Great Lakes. He thinks the industry may be changing, too; he pointed out that a major offshore energy conference is coming to the Great Lakes region this summer. (They usually alternate 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, which researchers hope will eventually become a model for other coastal communities.

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

The university will spend $10,000 this summer to help determine the best site on the island for the project.

The team showcased various wave energy converters at the Sustainability Fair on Beaver Island.

For more news, visit Great Lakes Now:

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Feature Photo: Project team on site on Beaver Island. (Photo courtesy of Beaver Island Association via University of Michigan)