Two ocean energy sources approach Oregon coast

NEWPORT, OR. On a cloudy morning in late August, Burke Hales was on a boat a mile off the central Oregon coast, pointing to a sandy beach along a forested shoreline. That’s where the Oregon State University oceanography professor said undersea cables from the first major wave-power test site in the continental U.S. will connect to land—and eventually to the local power grid.

“These are the strongest — probably the most energetic — waves of any test we’ve had in the area,” he said, as the boat was rocked by the high waves known to batter the Oregon coast.

Oregon’s coastal waters are shaping up as a key location for advances in two forms of renewable energy: wave power and wind turbines that float on the water. The way electricity is traditionally generated is a major cause of climate change, so clean alternatives are key to addressing it.

Wave energy is in its early stages compared to floating wind, but the potential could be big. Marine energy, a term researchers use to describe energy generated by tides, currents or waves, is the world’s largest untapped energy resource, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The Biden administration announced Monday it will invest more than $112 million to boost the design, manufacturing and testing of wave-energy devices.

Work on floating wind turbines is more advanced but still in its early stages and encountering resistance.

The only way to build offshore wind on the West Coast is to use floating turbines. The ocean is too deep to tether traditional turbines to the seabed, said Mark Severy, a research engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Lab who works to solve problems related to offshore wind development in the U.S.

So far, there are only a handful of floating offshore installations in the world, mostly small pilots in Europe and China testing the technology to pave the way for larger projects. The largest is Hywind Tampen, 11 turbines that provide electricity to oil and gas fields in Norway’s North Sea. A floating wind turbine has yet to be built in the United States.

California has awarded the first-ever U.S. leases to develop commercial floating wind farms in 2022. The federal government issued the nation’s first lease for floating offshore wind research to Maine in August, and a commercial lease sale in Oregon is next month. These are areas where the wind blows fast and hard, meaning a single turbine can generate more electricity than in areas where the wind isn’t as strong.

In Oregon, opposition from tribes, fishermen and coastal residents is highlighting some of the challenges of offshore renewable energy.

The opposition is mainly directed against the U.S. government’s plans for floating wind farms on two 305-square-mile (790-square-kilometer) sites off the southern Oregon coast.

The two areas identified by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, are located 32 miles (52 kilometers) off the coast of Coos Bay and 18 miles (29 kilometers) off the small city of Brookings, near the California state line.

Some in those communities fear construction would harm marine life, marine habitats, areas of cultural significance and ocean views. Although the wind sites are many miles from land, the lights used to illuminate the turbines at night would be visible from shore, according to BOEM’s visual simulation.

Two coastal counties will ask voters in November whether they oppose the development of floating offshore wind farms. And the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians — whose culture is tied to the ocean — are suing the federal government over the upcoming lease sale.

BOEM says it has reached out to tribes. But tribes in Oregon and California have expressed frustration with the lack of consultation.

John Ogan, executive director of natural resources for the Coquille Indian Tribe on the southern Oregon coast, said tribal members have been “talked over without providing substantive answers to our issues, concerns or requests for information” during meetings with the federal government.

“We have sacred sites,” he said. “Tribal people will never again see the sunset the same way they have for more than 10,000 years.”

The wave energy test site in Oregon has not drawn similar resistance. Hales, the Oregon State professor who serves as the site’s lead scientist, attributed that to researchers working with fishermen to determine the site’s location early in the permitting process.

Wave energy test sites allow companies to deploy devices they design in real-world conditions to see how they perform. While the PacWave South site in Oregon is not the first wave energy test site connected to the grid in the country—the U.S. Navy has one in Hawaii—it will be the first connected to the continental U.S. grid.

There are about 40 operational, grid-connected offshore energy projects globally, according to the PRIMRE data portal developed by three national laboratories on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy, or DOE. Some bob like buoys or sit on the seabed. Some look like submerged wind turbines.

Hales estimates that winter waves at the Oregon test site could be up to 6 meters (20 feet) high, and the plant would have a maximum capacity of 20 megawatts — enough to power about 2,000 homes.

One reason wave energy is still in its infancy and not yet competitive with wind, solar and geothermal energy is that it is a challenge for companies to develop designs that can withstand the harshest ocean conditions, where waves or currents are strongest, and then convert that movement into electricity in an efficient and affordable way.

“A huge part of this operation is survivability at sea,” Hales said. “We put metal devices in saltwater. They generate electricity. Being able to do that without exposing yourself to extensive corrosion is a big risk.”

Companies also need to consider how the devices will affect marine life, he said. The Oregon coast is home to an abundance of gray whales, sea lions, seals and seabirds.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has sought to ease tensions over wind development in her state, acknowledging that the federal government’s wind development process “hasn’t gotten off to a good start.” But she said the state needs to explore renewable energy options — including floating offshore wind — to meet its climate goals.

“In Oregon, we’re working toward clean electricity, 100 percent clean electricity, by 2040. That means we have to do more of what we’re doing now, and we have to put new options on the table. And that means floating offshore wind is a possibility,” she said.

“This is an opportunity. It is also a challenge,” she added. “But we have to try.”

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McDermott reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

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