A look at the WET-NZ device as it was during its testing operations 2-3 miles off the coast off Newport, Ore. New research in energy harnessed from waves is expanding the possibilities of America's energy resources. Pat Kight/Oregon Sea Grant
Wave-power could soon become a large part of America’s energy infrastructure, and Oregon is on the cutting edge of development.
Research into technologies that will harness wave power is being done in both the private and public sectors, but it is the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC) that may realize the dream of commercial-grid-electricity generated through wave power.
Researchers from the University of Washington and Oregon State are the brains behind NNMREC. Brian Polagye oversees projects using tidal energy, while Belinda Batten oversees wave energy. While these two areas may sound the same, they are attempting to harness the power of two very different characteristics of the ocean.
Tidal power research focuses on the slow but constant ebb and flow of the tides. These devices are placed far below the ocean’s surface. Wave-power devices float on or near the surface and generate power from the movement of the waves.
The NNMREC says in order to pioneer the new technology, they have to examine a variety of ideas. “There is no one design, or handful of designs, that seems to be a leader,” said Anthony Casson, Public Information representative for NNMREC.
Casson said one of the most recent trials was of a type of wave energy converter (WEC) called the Ocean Sentinel. The device is known as a point-absorber, and it hovers just below the ocean’s surface. The Ocean Sentinel generates power with a system of hydraulics that converts the device’s 360-degree rotation to electricity.
The Ocean Sentinel project, a joint effort between New Zealand and Oregon, recently completed a six-week testing cycle off the coast of Newport, Ore. The Ocean Sentinel tested electric generation off-the-grid and supplied NNMREC with power analysis, data environmental monitoring, and power dissipation control.
Another WEC, called the Power Buoy, will be tested this month. Developed by New Jersey-based Ocean Power Technologies (OPT), the Power Buoy will be moored off the coast of Reedsport, Ore. Much like the Ocean Sentinel, the Power Buoy is a floating point-absorber with most of its structure underwater and some visible above the ocean’s surface.
