Finavera Sinks their own Wave Energy Projects

Publisher’s Note:  Feb 09, 2009 – Not only has Finavera surrendered their Makah Bay license noted below, they also announced surrendering the Humboldt County, California Preliminary Permit to explore wave energy:

“Finavera Renewables has filed applications to surrender its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license for the Makah Bay Wave Energy Pilot Project in Washington and the Humboldt County Preliminary Permit for a proposed wave energy project in California.”

MendoCoastCurrent readers may recall Finavera’s inability to secure CPUC funding for the Humboldt project; noted below capitalization, financial climate as key reasons in these actions.

MendoCoastCurrent, February 6, 2009

Today Finavera Renewables surrendered their Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Makah Bay, Washington wave energy project license, commenting that the Makah Bay Finavera project “never emerged from the planning stages.”

And “due to the current economic climate and the restrictions on capital necessary to continue development of this early-stage experimental Project, the Project has become uneconomic.  Efforts by Finavera to transfer the license were not successful.  Therefore, Finavera respectfully requests that the <FERC> Commission allow it to surrender its license for the Project. ”

Back in early 2007, Finavera’s Makah Bay project looked like it would become the first U.S. and west coast project deployment of wave energy devices.  And this project also had a unique status based on Native American Indian land/coastal waters, so the rules of FERC, MMS were different due to sovereign status.

Then AquaBuoy, Finavera’s premier wave energy device, sank off the Oregon coast due to a bilge pump failure in late October 2007.  

Recently noted was Finavera’s comment that they are currently focusing their renewable energy efforts toward wind energy projects closer to their homebase in British Columbia, Canada and in Ireland.

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Capturing Ocean Energy

Guardian.co.uk, December 3, 2008

Way back in Napoleonic Paris, a Monsieur Girard had a novel idea about energy: power from the sea. In 1799, Girard obtained a patent for a machine he and his son had designed to mechanically capture the energy in ocean waves. Wave power could be used, they figured, to run pumps and sawmills and the like.

These inventors would disappear into the mists of history, and fossil fuel would instead provide an industrializing world with almost all its energy for the next two centuries. But Girard et fils were onto something, say a growing number of modern-day inventors, engineers, and researchers. The heave of waves and the tug of tides, they say, are about to begin playing a significant role in the world’s energy future.

In the first commercial scale signal of that, last October a trio of articulated, cylinder-shaped electricity generators began undulating in the waves off the coast of Portugal. The devices look like mechanical sea snakes. (In fact, their manufacturer, Scotland’s Pelamis Wave Power Ltd., takes its name from a mythical ancient Greek sea serpent.) Each Pelamis device consists of four independently hinged segments. The segments capture wave energy like the handle of an old fashioned water pump captures the energy of a human arm: as waves rock the segments to and fro, they pump a hydraulic fluid (biodegradable, in case of spills) powerfully through a turbine, spinning it to generate up to 750,000 watts of electricity per unit. Assuming the devices continue to perform well, Portuguese utility Energis expects to soon purchase another 28 more of the generators.

The completed “wave farm” would feed its collective power onto a single high voltage sea-floor cable, adding to the Portuguese grid about 21 megawatts of electricity. That’s enough to power about 15,000 homes.

In a world where a single major coal or nuclear plant can produce more than 1,000 megawatts of electricity, it’s a modest start. But from New York’s East River to the offshore waters of South Korea, a host of other projects are in earlier stages of testing. Some, like Pelamis, rely on the motion of waves. Others operate like underwater windmills, tapping the power of the tides.

Ocean-powered technologies are in their infancy, still technologically well behind such energy alternatives as wind and solar. Necessarily designed to operate in an inherently harsh environment, the technologies remain largely unproven and — unless subsidized by governments — expensive. (Portugal is heavily subsidizing the Pelamis project, with an eye to becoming a major European exporter of clean green power in the future.) Little is known about the effects that large wave or tide farms might have on marine ecosystems in general.

Despite the uncertainties, however, proponents say the potential advantages are too striking to ignore. Eight hundred times denser than air, moving water packs a huge energy wallop. Like solar and wind, power from moving seas is free and clean. But sea power is more predictable than either wind or solar. Waves begin forming thousands of miles from coastlines and days in advance; tides rise and fall as dependably as the cycles of the moon. That predictability makes it easier to match supply with demand.

Roger Bedard, who leads ocean energy research at the U.S. utility-funded Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in Palo Alto, says there’s plenty of reason for optimism about the future of what he calls “hydrodynamic” power. Within a decade, he says, the U.S. could realistically meet as much as 10% of its electricity needs from hydrodynamic power. As a point of reference, that’s about half of the electricity the U.S. produces with nuclear power today. Although he acknowledges that initial sea-powered generation projects are going to be expensive, Bedard believes that as experience grows and economies of manufacturing scale kick in, hydrodynamic power will follow the same path toward falling costs and improving technologies as other alternatives.

“Look at wind,” he says. “A kilowatt hour from wind cost fifty cents in the 1980s. Now it’s about seven cents.” (That’s about the same as producing electricity with natural gas, and only about three cents more than coal, the cheapest — and dirtiest — U.S. energy choice. Any future tax on carbon emissions could narrow that gap even more, as would additional clean-power subsidies.)

For some nations, wave and tide power could pack an even bigger punch. Estimates suggest, for instance, that the choppy seas surrounding the United Kingdom could deliver as much as 25% of its electricity. British alternative energy analyst Thomas W. Thorpe believes that on a worldwide basis, waves alone could produce as much as 2,000 terawatt hours of electricity, as much as all the planet’s major hydroelectric plants generate today.

Although none are as far along as Pelamis, most competing wave-power technologies rely not on the undulations of mechanical serpents, but instead on the power captured by the vertical bobbing of large buoys in sea swells. Ocean Power Technologies (OPT), based in New Jersey, drives the generators in its PowerBuoy with a straightforward mechanical piston. A stationary section of the mostly submerged, 90-foot buoy is anchored to the ocean floor; a second section simply moves up and down with the movement of sea swells, driving pistons that in turn drive an electrical generator. The Archimedes Wave Swing, a buoy-based system developed by Scotland’s AWS Ocean Energy, harnesses the up-and-down energy of waves by pumping air to spin its turbines. Vancouver-based Finavera Renewables uses seawater as its turbine-driving hydraulic fluid.

Although Pelamis beat all of these companies out of the commercialization gate, OPT appears to be right behind, with plans to install North America’s first commercial-scale wave power array of buoys off the coast of Oregon as early as next year. That array — occupying one square-mile of ocean and, like other wave power installations, located far from shipping lanes — would initially produce 2 megawatts of power. OPT also announced last September an agreement to install a 1.4-megawatt array off the coast of Spain. An Australian subsidiary is in a joint venture to develop a 10-megawatt wave farm off the coast of Australia.

Meanwhile, Pelamis Wave Power plans to install more of its mechanical serpents — three megawatts of generating capacity off the coast of northwest Scotland, and another five-megawatt array off Britain’s Cornwall coast.

The Cornwall installation will be one of four wave power facilities plugged into a single, 20-megawatt underwater transformer at a site called “Wave Hub.” Essentially a giant, underwater version of a socket that each developer can plug into, Wave Hub — which will be connected by undersea cable to the land-based grid — was designed as a tryout site for competing technologies. OPT has won another of the four Wave Hub berths for its buoy-based system.

Other innovators are trying to harness the power of ocean or estuarine tides. Notably, in 2007, Virginia’s Verdant Power installed on the floor of New York’s East River six turbines that look, and function, much like stubby, submerged windmills, their blades — which are 16 feet in diameter — turning at a peak rate of 32 revolutions per minute. The East River is actually a salty and powerful tidal straight that connects Long Island Sound with the Atlantic Ocean. Although the “underwater windmills” began pumping out electricity immediately, the trial has been a halting one. The strong tides quickly broke apart the turbines’ first- (fiberglass and steel) and second- (aluminum and magnesium) generation blades, dislodging mounting bolts for good measure.

Undeterred, in September Verdant Power began testing new blades made of a stronger aluminum alloy. If it can overcome the equipment-durability problems, the company hopes to install as many as 300 of its turbines in the East River, enough to power 10,000 New York homes.

A scattering of similar prototype “underwater windmill” projects have been installed at tidal sites in Norway, Northern Ireland, and South Korea. (In addition, interest in moving into freshwater sites is growing. Verdant itself hopes to install its turbines on the St. Lawrence River. At least one other company, Free Flow Power of Massachusetts, has obtained Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permits to conduct preliminary studies on an array of sites on the Mississippi River south of St. Louis.)

The environmental benefits of hydrodynamic power seem obvious: no carbon dioxide or any other emissions associated with fossil-fuel-based generation. No oil spills or nuclear waste. And for those who object to wind farms for aesthetic reasons, low-profile wave farms are invisible from distant land; tidal windmill-style turbines operate submerged until raised for maintenance.

There are, however, environmental risks associated with these technologies.

New York state regulators required Verdant Power to monitor effects of their its turbines on fish and wildlife. So far, sensors show that fish and water birds are having no trouble avoiding the blades, which rotate at a relatively leisurely 32 maximum revolutions per minute. In fact the company’s sensors have shown that fish tend to seek shelter behind rocks around the channel’s banks and stay out of the central channel entirely when tides are strongest.

But a host of other questions about environment effects remain unanswered. Will high-voltage cables stretching across the sea from wave farms somehow harm marine ecosystems? Will arrays of hundreds of buoys or mechanical serpents interfere with ocean fish movement or whale migrations? What effect will soaking up large amounts of wave energy have on shoreline organisms and ecosystems?

“Environmental effects are the greatest questions right now,” EPRI’s Bedard says, “because there just aren’t any big hydrodynamic projects in the world.”

Projects will probably have to be limited in size and number to protect the environment, he says – that’s a big part of the reason he limits his “realistic” U.S. estimate to 10% of current generation capacity. But the only way to get definitive answers on environmental impact might be to run the actual experiment — that is, to begin building the water-powered facilities, and then monitor the environment for effects.

Bedard suggests that the way to get definitive answers will be to build carefully on a model like Verdant’s: “Start very small. Monitor carefully. Build it a little bigger and monitor some more. I’d like to see it developed in an adaptive way.”

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Concerns Emerge About Environmental Effects of Wave Energy

MICHELLE MA, Seattle Times, November 17, 2008

What started out as a mad dash to extract energy from the ocean’s waves and tides has slowed to a marathoner’s pace — complete with a few water breaks and sprained ankles along the way.

In the past three years, more than 100 preliminary permits have been issued nationally for wave and tidal energy projects, and nearly 100 more are pending approval. But only one has won a license to operate — a small wave energy development off Washington’s northwest coast.

That project is still awaiting state and federal permits, and its British Columbia-based developer, Finavera Renewables, doesn’t know when the first devices will go in the water. It doesn’t help that a wave power buoy the company was testing off the Oregon coast unexpectedly sank last year.

Tapping the power of waves and tidal currents to generate electricity is promoted as one of many promising alternatives to the fossil fuels that contribute to global warming.

But no one knows exactly how the technologies will behave in the water, whether animals will get hurt, or if costs will pencil out. The permitting process is expensive and cumbersome, and no set method exists for getting projects up and running.

“The industry is really young, and everything is hodgepodged right now,” said Jim Thomson, an oceanographer at the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Lab who is involved in tidal research.

A new report that collected findings from dozens of scientists raises concerns about the impact wave energy developments could have on the ocean and its critters. Wave energy buoys could alter the food chain or disrupt migrations, the report says.

Still, developers, regulators and researchers are moving forward. A 2.25-megawatt project off the coast of Portugal went on line this fall, becoming the world’s first commercial wave energy development in operation. It can supply 1,500 households with electricity.

The first commercial wave energy park in the U.S. could go in off Reedsport, Ore., within the next two years.

Tidal energy has yet to go commercial, but devices have been tested in Ireland and Canada. Turbines have been placed in New York’s East River, and a demonstration project is planned for the Bay of Fundy off Northeastern U.S.

In the Northwest, the Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD) has narrowed its search for tidal power sites in Puget Sound, although the PUD doesn’t expect to have a test project in the water for another two years.

Race to develop

Dozens of developers have staked claim to plots in the ocean and in waterways that could provide wave and tidal energy. But despite the jostle for space, getting projects off dry land has proved difficult.

Wave power generators use the up-and-down motion of the ocean’s swells to produce electricity. Tidal generators act like underwater windmills, spinning as the tides move in and out.

To get small projects in the water quicker federal regulators recently created a five-year pilot license for tidal and wave developments. That’s meant to help developers gather data they need to launch future projects, said Federal Energy Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Celeste Miller.

Yet even with a more streamlined process, no one has applied for the pilot license, Miller said. Finavera received its license for the 1-megawatt Makah Bay wave project before this option became available.

Given the unknowns in a young industry, it’s not surprising projects are taking longer than some developers would like, said Myke Clark, senior vice president of business development for Finavera.

His company encountered another hurdle when Pacific Gas and Electric’s agreement to buy power from a planned Finavera wave energy project off California was rejected last month by the state’s Public Utilities Commission.

Regulators said the rates were too high and the buoy technology not yet ready.

Clark said the decision wouldn’t affect Finavera’s Makah Bay project.

Research under way

Researchers from the University of Washington and Oregon State University hope that a new national marine renewable energy research center in the Northwest will help answer questions about tidal and wave energy.

A federal grant provides $1.25 million annually for up to five years. The UW will continue research on tidal energy in Puget Sound, while OSU will focus on wave energy.

“The feeling is that a lot of questions being asked now are only questions that can be answered with a responsible pilot [project],” said Brian Polagye, who is pursuing his doctorate in mechanical engineering at the UW.

Locally, researchers want to see where marine life in Puget Sound congregates and to create a standard way to evaluate sites around the country to determine which would be good candidates for tidal energy projects.

Admiralty Inlet, between Whidbey Island and Port Townsend, is the likely spot for the Snohomish County PUD’s small test project set to launch at least two years from now, said Craig Collar, the PUD’s senior manager of energy resource development.

The inlet’s tides are strong, and the area is large enough to accommodate a tidal project without interfering with other activities such as diving and ferry traffic.

Finavera wants to install four wave energy buoys in Makah Bay in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary to test its technology. Developers also plan to monitor the project for effects on wildlife and shoreline habitat, keeping an eye on federally listed species such as the marbled murrelet, a small bird that dives for food.

Finavera doesn’t intend to continue the project after its five-year license expires. Still, if the company can negotiate a purchasing agreement with the Clallam County Public Utility District, homes in the area could use the wave generated power while the project is in the water, Clark said.

The Makah Nation wants to see what effect the project might have on the environment before deciding whether wave energy is a viable long-term option, said Ryland Bowechop, tourism and economic-development planner for the tribe.

The buoys would sit just offshore from the tribal headquarters in Neah Bay.

“We are always concerned because our livelihood is the ocean,” Bowechop said.

Concerns linger

The environmental effects of wave and tidal energy are largely unknown and require more studies, dozens of scientists concluded after meeting a year ago at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Ore.

The group was concerned that electromagnetic cables on the ocean floor could affect sea life, and that buoys could interfere with whale and fish migration.

Large buoys might actually attract more fish, but the marine ecosystem could be altered if more predators move in. Buoys also could disrupt natural currents and change how sediment is moved. Shorelines might be affected as energy is taken from the waves.

Even if environmental concerns are checked, costs to extract the power remain high. Wave energy costs at least 20 cents per kilowatt hour to generate, compared with 4 cents per kilowatt hour for wind power, said Annette von Jouanne, leader of OSU’s wave energy program. Wind energy used to be much more expensive 20 years ago.

In comparison, coal-generated power costs about 5 cents per kilowatt hour, and power from dams can be as low as 3 cents, said Roger Bedard, ocean energy leader with the nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute.

Tidal energy costs are harder to determine because there aren’t any projects trying to sell electricity, Bedard said.

Fishermen have their own worries. They fear that wave and tidal projects could further reduce access to fishing grounds, said Dale Beasley, a commercial fisherman in Ilwaco, Pacific County, and president of the Columbia River Crab Fisherman’s Association.

“There’s so many things coming at the ocean right now,” he said.

Beasley says the industry wants a say in how wave and tidal energy projects are developed.

“Coastal communities are going to have to figure out a way to deal with this, and if they don’t, the character of the coast will change dramatically,” he said.

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Finavera Plans US $1M Private Placement

RenewableEnergyWorld.com, November 10, 2008

Finavera Renewables Inc. has announced that it plans to raise US $1,002,000 through a non-brokered private placement of 20,040,000 units at a price of $0.05 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one-half of a share purchase warrant, with each full warrant exercisable at $0.10 for 12 months from the date of closing of the private placement.

Proceeds of the placement will be used for the continued development of Finavera Renewables’ wind energy projects, primarily for the B.C. Peace Region projects and for general working capital.

The company filed the US $0.05 price reservation with the TSX Venture Exchange on November 3, 2008. Proceeds of the placement will be used for the continued development of Finavera Renewables’ wind energy projects, primarily for the B.C. Peace Region projects and for general working capital, Finavera said.

The company also announced that is has applied to extend the term of all 21,000,000 share purchase warrants issued pursuant to a December 2007 private placement. The warrants, exercisable at US $0.15 per share and initially issued for a term of twelve months, have been extended an additional year.

The move to fund Finavera’s wind businesses comes after the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) decision to not allow a power purchase agreement between Finavera and PG&E for an ocean energy project to move forward. The CPUC cited concerns about the price of the electricity coming from the project specified under the PPA.

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California Rejects PG&E Contract for Wave Energy

MATT NAUMAN, San Jose Mercury News, October 27, 2008

The California Public Utilities Commission rejected a Pacific Gas & Electric contract for wave energy, saying the utility was going to pay too much for a technology that’s still largely experimental.

Last December, PG&E said it would be the first utility in the nation to get energy from ocean waves after signing a power purchase agreement with Finavera Renewables, which planned to operate a “wave farm” about 21/2 miles off the coast of Eureka. The deal was for 2 megawatts of power starting in 2012.

But the California PUC this month nixed the deal, saying wave energy technology was “in a nascent stage” and that Finavera’s system was “not currently viable.” The commission noted that a prototype buoy deployed by Finavera off the Oregon coast in 2007 sank before its six week test period was concluded.

The CPUC, which oversees power deals and rate hikes from the state’s big utilities, also said the San Francisco utility was going to pay too high a price for the wave-energy contract. The financial terms of power deals are not released publicly.

“We respectfully disagree with the decision,” PG&E spokeswoman Jennifer Zerwer said. The utility will continue to pursue wave energy projects, she said, including through its Emerging Renewables Resource Program proposal that would fund two wave projects off the Mendocino County and Humboldt County coast that’s currently waiting PUC approval.

In a letter to the PUC, Brian Cherry, PG&E’s vice president of regulatory relations, said the rejection of the deal would have “a chilling effect on wave development in California.” The rejection will send wave companies to states other than California, he wrote.

Finavera Renewables, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, said the decision puts California “out of step” with the policies of the federal government, other states and cities. CEO Jason Bak said Finavera would try to form a private wave-energy consortium to diversify the risk and attract more funding for wave-energy technology. He also said the company would now focus on its wind projects in Canada and Ireland.

A report released Monday suggested that wave energy has great potential to be a source of renewable power. While only about 10 megawatts of ocean power have been installed worldwide to date, a report by researcher Greentech Media and the nonprofit Prometheus Institute found that could grow to 1 gigawatt (1,000 megawatts) of power by 2015. In California, 1 megawatt of power is enough to provide electricity for 750 homes.

More than $4 billion will be invested in ocean-wave research and the construction of wave farms over the next six years, the report says.

Daniel Englander, co-author of that report, doesn’t see the CPUC decision as a death blow for wave energy projects. “PG&E picked the wrong company,” he said. “Finavera isn’t a bad company, it’s just that their technology isn’t at a stage where it’s ready to deliver power commercially.”

Still, he expects several companies will have production-ready ocean power systems capable of delivering 2 megawatts or more within five years.

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Power From the Restless Sea Stirs the Imagination

KATE GALBRAITH, The New York Times, September 23, 2008

For years, technological visionaries have painted a seductive vision of using ocean tides and waves to produce power. They foresee large installations off the coast and in tidal estuaries that could provide as much as 10% of the nation’s electricity.

But the technical difficulties of making such systems work are proving formidable. Last year, a wave-power machine sank off the Oregon coast. Blades have broken off experimental tidal turbines in New York’s turbulent East River. Problems with offshore moorings have slowed the deployment of snakelike generating machines in the ocean off Portugal.

Years of such problems have discouraged ocean-power visionaries, but have not stopped them. Lately, spurred by rising costs for electricity and for the coal and other fossil fuels used to produce it, they are making a new push to overcome the barriers blocking this type of renewable energy.

The Scottish company Pelamis Wave Power plans to turn on a small wave-energy farm — the world’s first — off the coast of Portugal by year’s end, after fixing the broken moorings. Finavera Renewables, a Canadian company that recently salvaged its sunken, $2.5 million Oregon wave-power machine, has signed an agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric to produce power off the California coast by 2012. And in the East River, just off Manhattan, two newly placed turbines with tougher blades and rotors are feeding electricity into a grocery store and parking garage on Roosevelt Island.

“It’s frustrating sometimes as an ocean energy company to say, yeah, your device sank,” said Jason Bak, chief executive of Finavera. “But that is technology development.”

Roughly 100 small companies around the world are working on converting the sea’s power to electricity. Many operate in Europe, where governments have pumped money into the industry. Companies and governments alike are betting that over time, costs will come down. Right now, however, little electricity is being generated from the ocean except at scattered test sites around the world.

The East River — despite its name, it is really a tidal strait with powerful currents — is the site of the most advanced test project in the United States.

Verdant Power, the company that operates it, was forced to spend several years and millions of dollars mired in a slow permit process, even before its turbine blades broke off in the currents. The company believes it is getting a handle on the problems. Verdant is trying to perfect its turbines and then install 30 of them in the East River, starting no later than spring 2010, and to develop other sites in Canada and on the West Coast.

Plenty of other start-ups also plan commercial ocean-power plants, at offshore sites such as Portugal, Oregon and Wales, but none have been built.

Ocean-power technology splits into two broad categories, tidal and wave power. Wave power, of the sort Finavera is pursuing, entails using the up and down motions of the waves to generate electricity. Tidal power — Verdant’s province — involves harnessing the action of the tides with underwater turbines, which twirl like wind machines.

(Decades-old tidal technologies in France and Canada use barrage systems that trap water at high tide; they are far larger and more obtrusive than the new, below-waterline technologies.)

A third type of power, called ocean thermal, aims to exploit temperature differences between the surface and deep ocean, mainly applicable in the tropics.

Ocean power has more potential than wind power because water is about 850 times denser than air, and therefore packs far more energy. The ocean’s waves, tides and currents are also more predictable than the wind.

The drawback is that seawater can batter and corrode machinery, and costly undersea cables may be needed to bring the power to shore. And the machines are expensive to build: Pelamis has had to raise the equivalent of $77 million.

Many solar start-ups, by contrast, need as little as $5 million to build a prototype, said Martin Lagod, co-founder of Firelake Capital Management, a Silicon Valley investment firm. Mr. Lagod looked at investing in ocean power a few years ago and decided against it because of the long time horizons and large capital requirements.

General Electric, which builds wind turbines, solar panels and other equipment for virtually every other type of energy, has stayed clear of ocean energy. “At this time, these sources do not appear to be competitive with more scalable alternatives like wind and solar,” said Daniel Nelson, a G.E. spokesman, in an e-mail message. (An arm of G.E. has made a small investment in Pelamis.)

Worldwide, venture capital going to ocean-power companies has risen from $8 million in 2005 to $82 million last year, according to the Cleantech Group, a research firm. However, that is a tiny fraction of the money pouring into solar energy and biofuels.

This month the Energy Department doled out its first major Congressionally-funded grants since 1992 to ocean-power companies, including Verdant and Lockheed Martin, which is studying ocean thermal approaches.

Assuming that commercial ocean-power farms are eventually built, the power is likely to be costly, especially in the near term. A recent study commissioned by the San Francisco Public Utility Commission put the cost of harnessing the Golden Gate’s tides at 85 cents to $1.40 a kilowatt-hour, or roughly 10 times the cost of wind power. San Francisco plans to forge ahead regardless.

Other hurdles abound, including sticky environmental and aesthetic questions. In Oregon, crabbers worry that the wave farm proposed by Ocean Power Technologies, a New Jersey company, would interfere with their prime crabbing grounds.

“It’s right where every year we deploy 115,000 to 120,000 crab pots off the coast for an eight-month period to harvest crab,” said Nick Furman, executive director of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission. The commission wants to support renewable energy, but “we’re kind of struggling with that,” Mr. Furman said

George Taylor, chief executive of Ocean Power Technologies, said he did not expect “there will be a problem with the crabs.”

In Washington State, where a utility is studying the possibility of installing tidal power at the Admiralty Inlet entrance to Puget Sound, scuba divers are worried, even as they recognize the need for clean power.

Said Mike Racine, president of the Washington Scuba Alliance: “We don’t want to be dodging turbine blades, right?”

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Rescued Sunken Wave Energy Buoy Calls for Better Infrastructure

TERRY DILLMAN, Newport News-Times, July 25, 2008

It sank to the bottom in 150 feet of water just one day before its planned retrieval. After nine months of waiting for the right weather and ocean conditions, divers and salvage vessels are currently on site to assist in the rebirth of a 75-foot, 40-ton wave energy buoy.

Developed by Finavera Renewables based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and built by Portland-based Oregon Iron Works, the Sept. 6, 2007 deployment of the Aquabuoy 2.0 wave energy converter – the first-ever wave energy test device off the Oregon coast – generated enthusiasm that has never waned, despite the Oct. 28 plunge into the ocean’s nether land. At the time, Finavera spokesman Myke Clark said engineers had gleaned plenty of data via wireless and satellite technology from onboard diagnostic equipment powered by solar panels and small wind turbines on the buoy.

“It performed exactly as we thought it would perform,” he noted.

Except for the sinking, the cause of which remains uncertain. The buoy began taking on water, and the bilge pump failed just one day before engineers were set to tow it back to shore. Finavera crews removed the anchor, mooring lines, tackle, and related paraphernalia, but had to leave the $2 million piece of technology itself resting on the ocean floor beneath the surface of the Oregon State University (OSU) wave energy test site located about 2.5 miles off the shores of Agate Beach.

Harsh weather and ocean conditions wiped out any hope of retrieving the buoy until now, despite everyone’s best efforts to recover it sooner.

Finavera officials notified everyone concerned as soon as they discovered the buoy’s disappearance, including Fishermen Involved in Natural Energy (FINE), a local advisory panel established in February 2007 by the Lincoln County commissioners. This panel played a key role in the wave energy test site selection process.

A week after the buoy sank, FINE members, county leaders, and others asked Finavera to explore any and all options to remove the buoy as soon as possible. At the time, Kevin Banister, Finavera’s vice president of business development, ocean energy, said they “pledged to explore” the options.

“We’re just as eager to get it out of the water as anybody,” he told the News-Times. “But we can’t make any guarantees.”

Even in good weather and calm waters, any ocean operation is tricky business. The Salvage Chief and related vessels began operations last week, with divers removing sand, cutting chain, and preparing the buoy for recovery. Banister told the News-Times the buoy “hasn’t moved” when discussing the situation earlier this week.

“It’s a complex operation,” he added. “It will take some time – as much as a week – to complete.”

That estimate is already off. Originally, salvage managers said they could tow the buoy in between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesday. The first of the two pieces – the 10-foot buoy that bobs above the ocean surface – was towed into Yaquina Bay at about 2 a.m. Thursday, along with a Coast Guard escort, and taken to a shipyard about four miles upriver to await later transport to the company’s facilities. Salvage crews are working on getting the second piece to the surface and back to port.

Clark said the buoy’s collision with the seafloor at the end of its 150-foot drop damaged it, forcing divers to “cut the supports (of the accelerator tube) to make it easier to bring up.”

Kaety Hildenbrand from OSU’s Oregon Sea Grant Marine Fisheries Extension Service said the Coast Guard “is putting a 500-yard restriction on the vessels while they are towing.” Finavera and Salvage Chief officials ask that everyone steer clear of the work site.

Finavera developers said they would use the data gleaned from the buoy before its demise to “move forward with technological development” and create “the next generation” device – one as unsinkable as they can make it.

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US Wave Energy Having Temporary Setbacks

Platts/McGraw-Hill, August 2008

Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) is looking to generate power from Scottish waters as well. Nasdaq-listed OPT reported July 28 that it had signed a berth agreement with the European Marine Energy Center (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland. OPT can, under the berth agreement, deploy and operate its unit as well as hook up to EMEC’s dedicated 2-MW subsea cable connected to the Scottish grid and will sell power to the grid up to the unit’s 2-MW capacity limit, using the EMEC berth for other deployments.

Across the Atlantic, wave energy development in the United States, another country looking to assume market leadership, suffered a temporary setback in late June 2008 when Finavera Renewables scuttled plans for a wave energy project off the Oregon coast to focus on developing the technology needed for other projects.

Finavera let preliminary permits granted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) expire by not filing required reports. FERC cancelled Finavera’s preliminary permit on June 26 for the proposed 100-MW Coos Country project, saying the company had failed to file six-month progress reports on studies that the company was required to perform for the project to move forward. The preliminary permit allowed for further site assessment and so-called micro siting to determine the best location for the proposed wave park, and allowed studies on such topics as oceanographic conditions, marine mammal resources, shoreline conditions, and public safety. “We had to focus some of our resources on a couple [of] other high priority projects,” said Myke Clark, vice president of corporate development for Finavera.

These include a planned 2-MW wave energy initiative at Makah Bay, California, which has already secured a long-term power purchase contract in December 2007 with California utility Pacific Gas & Electric – the first commercial PPA for a wave project in North America. In developing the new technology, engineers are tackling such challenges as the intermittency of waves and how to produce electricity from new types of equipment cheaply enough to make it profitable, he said. “We’re definitely in an intensive phase right now in terms of this technology,” Clark said, adding that the company is cancelling the project because “we need to focus a bit more on the technology development.”

The marine energy industry in America faces policy as well as technology obstacles.

As FERC promotes development of hydrokinetic energy and companies seize opportunities, the agency has issued preliminary permits that allow environmental assessments and other studies to be performed – only to have its regulatory authority questioned by other federal agencies.

The US Department of the Interior in April 2008 asserted that FERC lacked the authority to issue leases for hydrokinetic projects on the Outer Continental Shelf and called on FERC to rehear its decisions to issue two preliminary permits for wave electricity projects being considered off the coast of California.

FERC issued a license to Finavera in December 2007 for a 1-MW wave energy project in Clallam County, Washington, but several parties sought rehearing of the decision, claiming FERC violated the Clean Water Act by issuing a license before the state ecology department had issued a water quality certificate and other state permits and authorizations. In a March 20 order FERC said the rehearing requests are moot since the state issued the necessary permits to Finavera in February 2008. FERC said that its initial order was a conditional license that did not authorize construction or installation of facilities and “expressly stated that no such authority would be granted until Finavera obtained all necessary authorizations.”

The US wave energy industry received a boost in late July 2008, though, when the US Minerals Management Service, the federal agency that regulates offshore energy development, said it intends to issue leases for thirteen alternative energy research projects in the federal waters of the Outer Continental Shelf, including wave-energy projects off the California coast.

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Finavera Renewables Updates at Mid-2008

MendoCoastCurrent, July 27, 2008

Finavera Renewables CEO Jason Bak provides this overview of 2008 activities to date and an outlook for the remainder of the year.

“The first half of 2008 has been an exciting period for Finavera Renewables,” commented CEO Jason Bak. “Our strategy [in] wind projects is to develop an approximate one gigawatt pipeline with partners that can provide balance sheet strength. Our plan is to maintain majority ownership interests that will provide us with revenues. We have seen significant interest in our British Columbia and Ireland wind projects and we are confident we’ll be able to enter into development agreements with partners that will not result in undue shareholder dilution. We will be focusing our efforts and resources on our most valuable assets in order to demonstrate their value to the market and move them towards production.”

Finavera Renewables’ wind projects have been the focus of much activity in the first half of 2008. Aggressively pursuing partners for projects in British Columbia, Canada and in Ireland. After assessing a number of various partners, a proposal letter has been executed from a potential investor for the equity financing of four projects in British Columbia to be bid into the upcoming BC Hydro Clean Power Call. In addition, in Ireland, preliminary discussions have identified a potential project partner following a detailed review of groups expressing an interest in the project pipeline. The strategy for all of these projects is to maintain a significant ownership interest in the projects in order to provide a revenue stream.

Progress is also being made in the ocean energy division. The planned development of the next generation of its wave energy converter, the AquaBuOY 3.0, is continuing in order to improve the power output and economics of the device. This includes an analysis of advanced composite materials in the manufacturing of the device and discussions with potential technology development partners in an effort to enhance the core hose pump technology. This continued technology development builds on significant progress in wave energy projects including the signing of North America’s first commercial power purchase agreement for a 2 MW wave energy project in California with Pacific Gas & Electric.

Highlights of selected Finavera projects and milestones for 2008:

Wind Project Updates

British Columbia, Canada

Discussions with a potential corporate investor, receiving non-binding indicative financing proposal, in connection with four wind projects currently being developed in the Peace Region of British Columbia, Canada. The proposal contemplates the investor would invest 100% of the equity requirements for each of the four projects awarded an electricity purchase agreement by BC Hydro pursuant to the BC Hydro Clean Power Call. Specific details of the proposal, including the name of the proponent, will be released on signing of a definitive agreement, yet expects to the agreement in place well in advance of the Clean Power Call bid submission deadline November 2008. Finavera is working to prepare bids for the call, and is confident in its ability to secure a contract from the call. Also continuing is the greenfield development of its other permitted areas in the Cascade Mountains area of south central British Columbia, and soon expects to install meteorological monitoring towers on those sites.

Alberta, Canada

Continuing to evaluate development options in order to extract the maximum value from the 75MW Ghost Pine wind project. All of the significant environmental field work has been completed on the project which is located approximately 150km northeast of Calgary. The field work included wildlife, vegetation and land use studies, historical resource investigations and approvals, avian and raptor surveys, and preliminary geotechnical surveys. The project’s final detailed design is close to conclusion. Permitting and interconnection provisions are in place to allow for construction and wind turbine erection would take place in 2009 with a targeted in-service date of December 2009. Wind resource assessment is underway for the nearby 75MW Lone Pine wind project, intending to make an interconnection application for this second Alberta project soon.

Cloosh Valley, Ireland

Discussions are ongoing with a potential partner in order to development prospects for the 105 MW Cloosh Valley wind project. The project has received planning permission for meteorological tower installation for wind data collection from Galway County Council. As well, an application for interconnection has been submitted to Eirgrid, the independent electricity transmission system operator in Ireland, and grid queue position has been established. The next stages of development include the submission of an application for planning permission to An Bord Pleanala, the Irish federal planning authority, under newly established streamlined guidelines for strategic infrastructure projects.

Ocean Energy Updates

Development continues on the next generation AquaBuOY 3.0 design in order to reduce the levelized cost of electricity production and move the technology towards commercialization. Now undertaking an advanced composite materials analysis to lower the construction cost of the device and provide a stronger, lighter housing for the core hose pump technology. Finavera is also in discussion with potential technology development partners in an effort to enhance the hose pump technology and acquire or develop additional IP related to the hose pump technology. The next state of the AquaBuOY design phase will build on the information gathered from the deployment of the prototype AquaBuOY 2.0 technology off the coast of Oregon in 2007. The mathematical and power output modeling was verified during the test phase. The exact timing of future deployments and specific development milestones will be released as research and development objectives are met.

Narrowing its project development focus to the West Coast of North America and South Africa to direct resources to the most valuable project assets. This enhanced focus will help provide clean, renewable and cost effective electricity by 2012 from the project in Humboldt County, California. A long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) has been signed with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) for 2 MW wave energy project off the coast of California. This is the first commercial PPA for a wave energy project in North America.

“The second half of 2008 presents a tremendous opportunity for Finavera Renewables as we are poised to complete a number initiatives undertaken during the first half of the year. Our plan is to focus our efforts and resources on our highest value assets while investigating additional partnerships and joint ventures in the renewable energy sector,” said Jason Bak, CEO.

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The Coming Wave

The Economist, June 5, 2008

You only have to look at waves pounding a beach, inexorably wearing cliffs into rubble and pounding stones into sand, to appreciate the power of the ocean. As soaring oil prices and concern over climate change give added urgency to the search for new, renewable sources of energy, the sea is an obvious place to look. In theory the world’s electricity needs could be met with just a tiny fraction of the energy sloshing around in the oceans.

Alas, harnessing it has proved to be unexpectedly difficult. In recent years wind farms have sprouted on plains and hilltops, and solar panels have been sprinkled across rooftops and deserts. But where the technology of wind and solar power is established and steadily improving, that of wave power is still in its infancy. The world had to wait until October 2007 for the first commercial wave farm, consisting of three snakelike tubes undulating with the Atlantic swell off the coast of Portugal.

In December Pacific Gas & Electric, an American utility, signed an agreement to buy electricity from a wave farm that is to be built off the coast of California and is due to open in 2012. Across the world many other wave-power schemes are on the drawing board. The story of wave power, however, has been one of trials and tests followed by disappointment and delays. Of the many devices developed to capture wave energy, none has ever been deployed on a large scale. Given wave power’s potential, why has it been so hard to get the technology to work—and may things now be about to change?

The first patents for wave-power devices were issued in the 18th century. But nothing much happened until the mid-1970s, when the oil crisis inspired Stephen Salter, an engineer at the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland, to develop a wave generator known as Salter’s Duck. His design contained curved, floating canisters, each the size of a house, that would be strung together and then tethered to the ocean floor. As the canisters, known as Ducks, were tossed about by the waves, each one would rock back and forth. Hydraulics would convert the rocking motion to rotational motion, which would in turn drive a generator. A single Duck was calculated to be capable of generating 6 megawatts (MW) of electricity—enough to power around 4,000 homes. The plan was to install them in groups of several dozen.

Initial estimates put the cost of generating electricity in this way at nearly $1 per kilowatt hour (kWh), far more than nuclear power, the most expensive electricity at the time. But as Dr Salter and his team improved their design, they managed to bring the cost-per-kWh down to the cost of nuclear power. Even so, the research programme was shut down by the British government in 1982. The reasons for this were not made public, but it is widely believed to have happened after lobbying by the nuclear industry. In testimony to a House of Lords committee in 1988, Dr Salter said that an accurate evaluation of the potential of new energy sources would be possible only when “the control of renewable energy projects is completely removed from nuclear influences.”

Salter’s Duck never took to the seas, but it sparked interest in the idea of wave power and eventually helped to inspire other designs. One example is the Pelamis device, designed by some of Dr Salter’s former students, who now work at Pelamis Wave Power, a firm based in Scotland. Three such devices, each capable of generating up to 750kW, have been deployed off the coast of Portugal, and dozens more are due to be installed by 2009. There are also plans for installations off Orkney in Scotland and Cornwall in England.

As waves travel along the 140-metre length of the snakelike Pelamis, its hinged joints bend both up and down, and from side to side. This causes hydraulic rams at the joints to pump hydraulic fluid through turbines, turning generators to produce electricity. Pelamis generators present only a small cross-section to incoming waves, and absorb less and less energy as the waves get bigger. This might seem odd, but most of the time the devices will not be operating in stormy seas—and when a storm does occur, their survival is more important than their power output.

Oh Buoy

The Aquabuoy, designed by Finavera Renewables of Vancouver, takes a different approach. (This is the device that Pacific Gas & Electric hopes to deploy off the California coast.) Each Aquabuoy is a tube, 25-metres long, that floats vertically in the water and is tethered to the sea floor. Its up-and-down bobbing motion is used to pressurise water stored in the tube below the surface. Once the pressure reaches a certain level, the water is released, spinning a turbine and generating electricity.

The design is deliberately simple, with few moving parts. In theory, at least, there is very little to go wrong. But a prototype device failed last year when it sprang a leak and its bilge-pump malfunctioned, causing it to sink just as it was due to be collected at the end of a trial. Finavera has not released the results of the trial, which was intended to measure the Aquabuoy’s power output, among other things. The company has said, however, that Aquabuoy will be profitable only if each device can generate at least 250kW, and that it has yet to reach this threshold.

Similar bobbing buoys are also being worked on by AWS Ocean Energy, based in Scotland, and Ocean Power Technologies, based in Pennington, New Jersey, among others. The AWS design is unusual because the buoys are entirely submerged; the Ocean Power device, called the PowerBuoy, is being tested off the coast of Spain by Iberdrola, a Spanish utility.

The Oyster, a wave-power device from Aquamarine Power, another Scottish firm, works in an entirely different way. It is an oscillating metal flap, 12 metres tall and 18 metres wide, installed close to shore. As the waves roll over it, the flap flexes backwards and forwards. This motion drives pistons that pump seawater at high pressure through a pipe to a hydroelectric generator. The generator is onshore, and can be connected to lots of Oyster devices, each of which is expected to generate up to 600kW. The idea is to make the parts that go in the sea simple and robust, and to keep the complicated and delicate bits out of the water. Testing of a prototype off the Orkney coast is due to start this summer.

The logical conclusion of this is to put everything onshore—and that is the idea behind the Limpet. It is the work of Wavegen, a Scottish firm which is a subsidiary of Voith Siemens Hydro, a German hydropower firm. A prototype has been in action on the island of Islay, off the Scottish coast, since 2000. The Limpet is a chamber that sits on the shoreline. The bottom of the chamber is open to the sea, and on top is a turbine that always spins in the same direction, regardless of the direction of the airflow through it.

As waves slam into the shore, water is pushed into the chamber and this in turn displaces the air, driving it through the turbine. As the water recedes, air is sucked back into the chamber, driving the same turbine again. The Limpet on Islay has three chambers which generate an average of 100kW between them, but larger devices could potentially generate three times this amount, according to Wavegen. Limpets may be built into harbour breakwaters in Scotland and Spain.

Dozens of wave-energy technologies are being developed around the world: ideas, in other words, are not what has held the field back. So what has? Tom Thorpe of Oxford Oceanics, a consultancy, blames several overlapping causes. For a start, wave energy has lagged behind wind and solar, because the technology is much younger and still faces some big technical obstacles. “This is a completely new energy technology, whereas wind and photovoltaics have been around for a long time—so they have been developed, rather than invented,” says Mr Thorpe.

The British government’s decision to shut its wave-energy research programme, which had been the world’s biggest during the 1970s, set the field back nearly two decades. Since Britain is particularly well placed to exploit wave energy (which is why so many wave-energy companies come from there), its decision not to pursue the technology affected wave-energy research everywhere, says Mr Thorpe. “If we couldn’t do it, who could?” he says.

Once interest in wave power revived earlier this decade, practical problems arose. A recurring problem, ironically enough, is that new devices underestimate the power of the sea, and are unable to withstand its assault. Installing wave-energy devices is also expensive; special vessels are needed to tow equipment out to sea, and it can be difficult to get hold of them. “Vessels that could potentially do the job are all booked up by companies collecting offshore oil,” says Trevor Whittaker, an engineer at Queen’s University in Belfast who has been part of both the Limpet and Oyster projects. “Wave-generator installation is forced to compete with the high prices the oil industry can pay.”

Another practical problem is the lack of infrastructure to connect wave-energy generators to the power grid. The cost of establishing this infrastructure makes small-scale wave-energy generation and testing unfeasible; but large-scale projects are hugely expensive. One way around this is to build a “Wave Hub”, like the one due to be installed off the coast of Cornwall in 2010 that will provide infrastructure to connect up wave-energy arrays for testing.

Expect Flotations

But at last there are signs of change. Big utilities are taking the technology seriously, and are teaming up with wave-energy companies. Venture-capitalists are piling in too, as they look for new opportunities. Several wave-energy companies are thought to be planning stockmarket flotations in the coming months. Indeed, such is investors’ enthusiasm that Mr Thorpe worries that things might have gone too far. A big failure could tarnish the whole field, just as its prospects look more promising than ever.

Whether one wave-energy device will dominate, or different devices will suit different conditions, remains to be seen. But wave energy’s fortunes have changed. “We have to be prepared for some spectacular failures,” says Mr Thorpe, “but equally some spectacular successes.”

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Harnessing Energy from the Oceans

GLOBE-NET NEWS, May 29, 2008

Forever moving – our restless oceans have enough energy to power the world. As long as the Earth turns and the moon keeps its appointed cycle, the oceans will absorb and dissipate vast amounts of kinetic energy – a renewable energy resource of enormous potential. But harnessing this resource has proven more difficult than first thought. In this the latest installment of the GLOBE-Net Series on Renewable Energy – we look at how the power of the oceans might eventually find its place among other forms of renewable energy.

Ocean Energy – What is it?

According to the United Nations, 44% of the world’s population lives within 150 km of an ocean coast. In Canada and Australia the number is much higher at 80%. In the United States 53% of the population lives in close proximity to an ocean.

Thus it is only natural that many countries look to the oceans as a source of energy to be harnessed. How they seek to exploit this resource varies according to factors of geography and available technologies.

The two main forms of energy associated with our oceans are tidal power and wave power – born of the same source, but different in how they turn energy into electricity.

Tidal Power

Tidal power coverts the energy of tides into electricity utilizing the rise and fall of the ocean tides. The stronger the tide, either in water level height or tidal current velocities, the greater the potential for tidal electricity generation.

Tidal generators act in much the same way as do wind turbines, however the higher density of water (832 times that of air) means that a single generator can provide significant power at velocities much lower than those associated`with the wind power generators.

Tidal power can be classified into two main types; Tidal Stream Systems and Barrages.

Barrages are similar to hydro-electric dams but are placed in an estuary bay or river mouth, where they act as barriers that create artificial tidal lagoons. When water levels outside the lagoon changes relative to water levels inside, turbines in the barrages are able to produce electrical power. There are only three such structures in the world: the Rance River in France, Canada’s Bay of Fundy, and Kislaya Guba, Russia.

Tidal stream systems make use of the kinetic energy of moving water to power turbines. This technology simply relies on individual turbines which are placed in the water column; moored to be suspended, floating or anchored to the ocean floor. As the tide flows in or out, electrical energy is produced as water moves through the turbine.

Tidal power boasts several advantages over other types of renewable energy technology, because tides are more predictable and reliable than wind energy or sunny days for solar power. Tidal energy has an efficiency ratio of approximately 80% in terms of converting the potential energy of the water into electricity. Tidal stream system turbines are only a third the diameter of wind rotors of the same power output.

As with wind power, location is important factor in terms of being able to harness the earth’s natural energy. Tidal stream systems must be located in areas with fast currents where natural flows are concentrated between natural obstructions, for example at the entrances to bays and rivers, around rocky points or headlands, or between islands and other land masses.

Wave Power

Ocean surface waves are also a considerable source of energy potential, but energy that is not as restricted in terms of location as tidal energy systems. Typically wave energy is captured using buoys which generate mechanical energy as they oscillate vertically from wave motion.

Terminator devices extend perpendicular to the direction of wave travel and capture or reflect the power of the wave. Water enters through a subsurface opening into a chamber with air trapped above it and wave action causes the captured water column to move up and down like a piston to force the air though an opening connected to a turbine.

A point absorber is a floating structure with components that move relative to each other due to wave action (e.g., a floating buoy inside a fixed cylinder). The relative motion is used to drive electromechanical or hydraulic energy converters.

Attenuators are long multi-segment floating structures oriented parallel to the direction of the waves. The differing heights of waves along the length of the device causes flexing where the segments connect, and this flexing is connected to hydraulic pumps or other converters.

Overtopping devices have reservoirs that are filled by incoming waves to levels above the average surrounding ocean. The water is then released, and gravity causes it to fall back toward the ocean surface. The energy of the falling water is used to turn hydro turbines.

Wave power varies considerably in different parts of the world, and wave energy can’t be harnessed effectively everywhere. According to the Ocean Renewable Energy Group, a Vancouver based organisation that promotes the development of ocean energy in Canada, regions considered to have “good” wave energy resources are generally those found within 40 to 60 degrees of latitude, where the strongest winds are found. Wave-power rich areas of the world include the western coasts of Scotland, northern Canada, southern Africa, Australia, and the northwestern coasts of the United States.

Projects Underway

Ocean energy company Clean Current Power Systems estimates a potential global market for 67,000 Megawatts (MW) of tidal and wave action equipment worth $200 billion. At 20 cents/kW hour, the market for tidal electricity could be $27 billion annually. According to Finavera, world-wide wave energy could provide up to 2,000 TWh/year, 10% of world electricity consumption.

It comes as no surprise then, that interest in ocean energy has been building momentum in the past few years as these nations scramble to meet renewable energy targets.

For instance, in November 2007, British company Lunar Energy announced that it would be building the world’s first deep-sea tidal-energy farm off the coast of Pembrokshire in Wales. Eight underwater turbines, each 25 metres long and 15 metres high will provide electricity for 5,000 homes. Construction is due to start in the summer of 2008 and the proposed tidal energy turbines, described as “a wind farm under the sea”, should be operational by 2010.

Plans for a ten-mile barrage across the River Severn, which could generate 5% of the UK’s electricity needs, are currently under development. According to the UK Sustainable Development Commission, a barrage across the Severn would produce clean and sustainable electricity for 120 years. This would have a capacity of 8,640MW and an estimated output of 17 terawatt hours a year.

Scotland boasts roughly 25% of the entire European Union’s tidal power potential and 10% of its wave energy potential and could produce more than 1,300 megawatts by 2020, enough to power a city the size of Seattle. In 2007, Scotland announced $26 million worth of funding packages to develop marine power in the nation. So far $8 million has been procured to develop 3 MW of tidal power.

UK based Marine Current Turbines is developing a tidal stream system off the coast of Ireland. The 1.2-megawatt turbine will be tested for 12 weeks before feeding power into the Northern Ireland grid where it will operate for up to 20 hours per day, producing enough electricity to power 1,000 homes.

Both Scotland and England are planning wave energy projects. Scotland will be developing a 3MW array and England will be developing a 20 MW Wave Hub off the north coast of Cornwall, England. The Cornwall project will power up to 7,500 homes.

Canada has the world’s longest coastline and has always been serious about harnessing ocean energy. In early 2008 the Government of Nova Scotia gave the green light to three tidal energy testing projects in the Bay of Fundy to help establish a permanent tidal energy farm (see GLOBE-Net Article Nova Scotia to fund tidal power research). Irving Oil is also studying 11 potential sites in the Bay of Fundy to develop tidal energy farms.

The Government of British Columbia estimates there are more than 6,000 megawatts of potential wave energy that have been identified so far in the province and projects are already underway to develop wave energy systems. In 2006 Vancouver based Clean Current Power Systems began developing a pilot tidal power project near Victoria to demonstrate the potential for tidal power.

PG&E and Vancouver-based Finavera Renewables is developing America’s first commercial wave power plant off the coast of Northern California. The plant is scheduled to begin operating in 2012, generating a maximum of 2 megawatts of electricity.

In March, 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy announced would be offering up to $7.5 million in grants for hydro-kinetic energy such as wave and tidal power. The department is seeking partnerships with companies and universities to develop the technologies and plans to award up to 17 grants.

Portugal is planning the world’s first commercial wave farm, the Aguçadora Wave Park near Póvoa de Varzim. If successful, a further 70 million euro is likely to be invested before 2009 on a further 28 machines to generate 72.5 MW.

The Challenges

Despite the enormous potential of ocean energy, there remain many pitfalls (if such a word can be used in a watery context) that have proven difficult to overcome, and which explains why ocean energy remains the least developed of all forms renewable energy. Problems still exist regarding cost, maintenance, environmental concerns and our still imperfect understanding of how power from the oceans will impact on the world’s energy infrastructure.

For example, turbines are susceptible to bio-fouling; the growth of aquatic life on or in the turbine. This can severely inhibit the efficiency of energy production and is both costly and difficult to remove. Turbines are also prone to damage from ocean debris.

In the Bay of Fundy, project developers are particularly concerned with ice floes the size of small apartments, and cobblestones the size of watermelons constantly being tossed across the Bay’s terrain by the power of the Bay’s water flows.

Turbines may also be hazardous to marine life and the impacts on marine life are still largely unknown, but concern is warranted.

Barrage systems are affected by problems of high initial infrastructure costs associated with construction and the resulting environmental problems. For example, independent research on the economics of building the proposed Severn Barrage in the UK revealed that, taking environmental costs into account, the structure could cost as much as $12 billion to create – $4 billion more than previously estimated.

Barrage impacts include a decrease in the average salinity and turbidity within a barrage, significantly altering associated ecosystems.

Wave power systems present their own set of challenges. Most electric generators operate at higher speeds, and most turbines require a constant, steady flow. Unfortunately wave energy is slow and ocean waves oscillate at varying frequencies.

The rough realities of the marine environment have also proven difficult to deal with, especially for companies seeking to remain cost-effective. Constructing wave devices that can survive storm damage and saltwater corrosion add to development costs.

The Future

Modern advances in ocean energy technology may eventually see large amounts of power generated from the ocean, especially tidal currents using the tidal stream designs. The technology is still in its infant stage and most projects that exist or are that are in project development stages are mainly pilot projects. But the promise remains.

“It’s not as well-established as solar, thermal, wind and biomass, but it [ocean power] shows a lot of promise,” said Philip Jennings, professor of energy studies at Western Australia’s Murdoch University.

“As the technology develops and becomes more affordable, which it will over time, we can continue to expand pretty much anywhere where there is an ocean,” said Chief Executive Officer Phil Metcalf of Pelamis Wave Power.

The market potential for tidal power still remains unclear [says who?]. Sector analysts believe Initial Public Offerings (IPO) for wave and tidal power projects will be much harder to price than for comparable wind power projects, because wave firms cannot give exact estimates on the scale of benefits and few have technologies that are up and running.

Regardless, both ocean wave and tidal power have attracted growing interest from investors and power utilities looking for the next long-term play in renewable energy.

“Water covers more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface,” said Andy Karsner, assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy at the DOE. “Using environmentally responsible technologies, we have a tremendous opportunity to harness energy produced from ocean waves, tides or ocean currents, free-flowing water in rivers and other water resources to…provide clean and reliable power.”

According to Jennings ocean power could not match fossil fuels for electricity production but could be competitive with other forms of renewable energy.

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Ecology Challenges FERC for Bypassing Environmental Reviews of Energy Projects

Press Release from the Washington State Dept. of Ecology, March 15, 2008

OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) today filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to protect the state’s role in federal licensing procedures for energy projects. The petition asks the court to clarify federal law regarding a recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decision.

In December, FERC sidestepped the established licensing procedure by granting a conditioned license to Finavera Renewables, superseding decisions from other federal and state agencies with authority in the federal licensing process. Finavera proposes a wave energy project at Makah Bay off the Washington coast.

FERC denied Ecology’s initial appeal of the Finavera conditioned license in March.

Ecology argues that federal law does not allow FERC to offer a conditioned license in advance of obtaining input and consideration from the other agencies with a regulatory role in the licensing process. Today’s petition would permit the federal court to determine if FERC’s action is consistent with federal law. Ecology requests the court confirm the existing requirements of federal law by declaring that FERC does not have authority to issue conditioned licenses.

“One of Ecology’s concerns is providing a straightforward process of licensing and ensuring applicants are not given false expectations that their projects have all of the approvals to move forward when they do not,” said Ecology program manager Gordon White. “This new policy by FERC has the strong potential to confuse and even lengthen the process for applicants.”

Ecology has responsibility under the federal Clean Water Act and Coastal Zone Management Act to authorize that project proposals can be undertaken without harming water quality or sensitive shoreline areas. The agency reviews applications and can write conditions into the approvals to ensure any potential impacts are avoided or minimized.

Historically, agencies with responsibility for protecting water quality, shorelines, fish and other environmental resources review and decide upon applications before FERC issues a final license. That did not happen in this instance.

FERC’s role is to grant a final license that incorporates state and federal laws and conditions after a thorough review by agencies charged with upholding those regulations. Under its newly issued policy, FERC says it plans to consider amendments to its conditioned licenses. However, contrary to existing law, it will not guarantee that an amended version will include all the necessary conditions to protect the environment identified by other agencies.

White says changing the sequence of approvals would set a dangerous precedent for the applicant, interested citizens and the environment.

“Without FERC’s guarantee that the final license will include environmental protections, its new policy on conditioned licensing will be a major concern for us,” White explained. “Applicants deserve to understand what protections they must build into their projects, and the process we have been using gives them that certainty.”

Ecology gave approval for Finavera’s proposed wave energy project with conditions to protect water quality and environmental resources. The agency supports the development of alternative energy sources.

Once receiving the petition, the District Court will determine the schedule for the remaining court process such as filing opening briefs, receiving supporting or opposing briefs and hearing arguments. The court typically takes a few months to complete this whole process.

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Riding the Power of Undersea Waves

MICHAEL KANELLOS, CNet News, April 24, 2008

MENLO PARK, Calif.–Back and forth, back and forth. That’s the idea behind WaveRoller.

The company, based in Espoo, Finland, says it has devised a way to generate electricity from waves without buoys or other floating devices, the mainstay of other wave power companies.

 

Instead, the company wants to plant oscillating fiberglass/steel plates on the sea bed. Waves rolling in push over the plates, which rebound after the wave passes to only be knocked down by another wave. The back-and-forth motion of the plates drives a piston and creates hydraulic pressure. The pressure ultimately gets fed to a turbine to generate electricity.

By being completely submerged, WaveRoller’s device could help quell some of the NIMBY-ism that comes with building in coastal areas, CEO Tuomo Hyysalo said in an interview during a break at the Nordic Green conference here earlier this week. It also makes the device less prone to being an obstacle for boats. Ideally, the 4-meter-high plates will be anchored in water 10 meters to 12 meters deep.

Some wave power devices–such as the buoys being developed by WaveBob and Finavera Renewables–are fairly unobtrusive. They sit far offshore and can be lit so boats can navigate around them. Others, however, are quite large. The Pelamis from Pelamis Wave Power, for example, is a 120-meter segmented device that looks like a giant orange sea snake. Others, like the Limpet, are large cement structures anchored to the shore.

WaveRoller installed a second prototype off the coast of Peniche, Portugal, earlier this year and this summer will begin to collect data on how well the plates perform. If all goes well, the company hopes to start producing systems commercially and helping power providers build multi-megawatt power plants in five to seven years or so. (Other wave companies are similarly aiming at producing power with commercial-size devices in the 2010 to 2015 time frame.)

“The mayor of Peniche is a surfer and he loves it,” said Hyysalo, adding that surfers are often some of the biggest opponents. They fear that wave power devices will sap the strength of waves.

The plate in the latest prototype measures 4×4 meters and can generate 10 kilowatts to 13 kilowatts of power. Commercial units will likely consist of three plates lined up near each other and produce around 45 kilowatts, he said. Thus, you’d need about 22 three-plate devices for a megawatt. A single WaveBob can produce more than a megawatt of power.

Wave power, at least according to its advocates, could become a staple in renewable energy over the next two decades. Waves are far more predictable than wind and solar conditions. Satellites can track wave trains out at sea and give utilities and power providers advance estimates of how much power they can hope to generate from the sea. Water is 800 times denser than air; thus, a few devices planted in a relatively small area can generate as much power as a large wind farm.

Ireland, Scotland, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and some South Pacific nations are already, or are preparing, wave energy tests.

But there is the catch. Wave power devices have to sit in some of the harshest environments on the planet and function fairly flawlessly to be economical. Right now, virtually all wave power systems are prototypes.

Being completely submerged could potentially become an advantage in this department. Historically, marine engineers have built structures so that they sit above the wave line, like oil derricks, or beneath it. Building devices that are supposed to live on the surface of waves “goes against every instinct of mankind,” joked James Ryan, who manages strategic planning and development services for wave power at Ireland’s Marine Institute, in a recent interview.

Still, maintenance and repairs are going to be one of the big challenges for WaveRoller, Hyysalo acknowledged. Could these plates break loose or get frozen in place? Sure.

So how does WaveRoller get its plates down there? The construction area is isolated from the rest of the sea and then drained.

“It is like building a bridge,” Hyysalo said.</span

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Renewable Energy at Sea: Harnessing Wave Energy

IMC Brokers, October 23, 2007

Generating Renewable Energy from Ocean Waves

Wave power refers to the energy of ocean surface waves and the capture of that energy to do useful work – including electricity generation, desalination, and the pumping of water (into reservoirs). Wave power is a form of renewable energy. Though often co-mingled, wave power is distinct from the diurnal flux of tidal power and the steady gyre of ocean currents. Wave power generation is not a widely employed technology, and no commercial wave farm has yet been established (although development for the first commercial wind farm in the Orkneys are well under way).

Below you will find a selection of technologies used to convert wave energy into electricity.

Pelamis Wave Energy Converter: The Pelamis is a semi-submerged, articulated structure composed of cylindrical sections linked by hinged joints. The wave-induced motion of these joints is resisted by hydraulic rams, which pump high-pressure oil through hydraulic motors via smoothing accumulators. The hydraulic motors drive electrical generators to produce electricity. Power from all the joints is fed down a single umbilical cable to a junction on the sea bed. Several devices can be connected together and linked to shore through a single seabed cable.

Finavera’s AquabuOY: The AquaBuOY is a floating buoy structure that converts the kinetic energy of the vertical motion of oncoming waves into clean electricity. It utilizes a cylindrical buoy as the displacer and the reactor is a large water mass enclosed by a long vertical tube underneath the buoy.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu6_Em1LfBg”]
Aegir Dynamo: The Aegir Dynamo™ functions in a unique fashion by generating electrical current from the motion of the prime mover in one phase via a direct mechanical conversion and the use of a bespoke buoyancy vessel.

[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7-EPR8Ss6M”]Wave Dragon: Wave Dragon is a floating, slack-moored energy converter of the overtopping type that can be deployed in a single unit or in arrays of Wave Dragon units in groups resulting in a power plant with a capacity comparable to traditional fossil based power plants.

[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGD20eObcF8″]OWC Pico Power Plant: Wave enters in the “hydro-pneumatic chamber” (resembling a cave with entry below the waterline). Up-and down- movement of water column inside chamber makes air flow to and from the atmosphere, driving an air turbine. The turbine is symmetric and is driven indifferently in which direction the air flows.

AWS Wave Energy Converter: The AWS (Archimedes Wave Swing) wave energy converter is a cylinder shaped buoy, moored to the seabed. Passing waves move an air-filled upper casing against a lower fixed cylinder, with up and down movement converted into electricity.
As a wave crest approaches, the water pressure on the top of the cylinder increases and the upper part or ‘floater’ compresses the gas within the cylinder to balance the pressures. The reverse happens as the wave trough passes and the cylinder expands. The relative movement between the floater and the lower part or silo is converted to electricity by means of a hydraulic system and motor-generator set.

OpenHydro: The company’s vision is to deploy farms of open-centre tidal turbines under the world’s oceans – silently and invisibly generating electricity at no cost to the environment. OpenHydro’s technology enables the ocean’s immense energy to be harnessed for the benefit of all. The Open-Centre Turbine, with just one moving part and no seals, is a self-contained rotor with a solid state permanent magnet generator encapsulated within the outer rim, minimising maintenance requirements.

SPERBOY: Developed and patented by Embley Energy, is a floating wave energy converter based on the ‘oscillating water column’ principle. Air displaced by the oscillating water column is passed through turbine-generators. Designed to be deployed in large arrays 8 to 12 miles off shore SPERBOYTM provides large-scale energy generation at a competitive cost.

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It Came From the Sea–Renewable Energy, That Is

LARRY GREENEMEIER, Scientific American, March 10, 2008

Thirty feet (nine meters) below Manhattan’s East River, next to Roosevelt Island, six turbines—each 16 feet (five meters) in diameter, churning at a peak rate of 32 revolutions per minute—stand at attention on the riverbed. The turbines—which belong to New York City-based Verdant Power, Inc., —are built on a swiveling platform that keeps their nose cones facing the tide, whether it’s coming in or going out. Resembling an underwater wind farm, these kinetic hydropower systems use gearboxes and speed increasers—which convert the slower rotating rotor into a faster rotating generator—to transform each turbine’s mechanical power into electricity.

Verdant’s turbines require tides that move at least six feet per second in order to generate enough energy for them to be cost-effective, and the East River is more than obliging. “The East River is a good tidal channel that links the Long Island Sound to the ocean,” says Trey Taylor, the company’s president and head of market development. “Plus, New York is an expensive place to buy power, so it would be easier here to prove that this could help.”

A few dozen feet away from the closest turbine, an onshore control room gets a feed of the energy created by the entire cluster. To prove that this energy could be usable for local businesses, Verdant last year sent a test transmission of electricity to a supermarket and parking garage on Roosevelt Island that were willing to participate in the Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy project.

The Earth’s oceans, pushed by wind and tugged by the moon and sun, ebb and flow over more than 70 percent of the planet, but only recently has technology emerged to finally harness some of that kinetic energy as usable power for us landlubbers. Underwater turbines, submerged “wind” farms and wave-riding electrical generators are being tested around the world, with new advances in technology promising relief for overworked energy utilities. “We consider wave energy to be more predictable than wind,” says Phil Metcalf, CEO of Edinburgh-based Pelamis Wave Power, Ltd., a company taking a different approach than Verdant in developing ocean power–utilizing devices. “You look at the ocean 1,000 miles out, you’ll get a good idea of what to expect over the next 24 to 48 hours. We think it’s actually going to be easier to dispatch to the grid.”

Pelamis’s devices are big red tubes, each 426.5 feet (130 meters) long, 13 feet (about four meters) in diameter, weighing around 750 tons (635 metric tons), and with a life expectancy of up to 20 years. They flex as the ocean swells around them. The wave-induced motion of the tubes’ joints is resisted by hydraulic rams, which pump high-pressure fluid through hydraulic motors that drive electrical generators to produce electricity. Power from all the joints is fed down a single umbilical cable to a junction on the seabed. Three of the tubes, which work best at a depth of 165 to 230 feet (50 to 70 meters) and roughly 3.7 miles (six kilometers) from the shore, can produce up to 2.25 megawatts.

Pelamis—which until September had been called Ocean Power Delivery—has taken its prototype through about 2,000 hours of testing at the European Marine Energy Center’s wave test site near Scotland’s Orkney Islands. Three additional machines will form the initial phase of Agucadoura, the world’s first commercial wave farm, in April off the coast of Portugal, a project developed by Portuguese utility Enersis, a subsidiary of Babcock and Brown. Pelamis is negotiating with other utilities and governments as well, with future deployments depending on how well the Portuguese project is able to turn waves of water into currents of electricity.

The waters around Scotland are also host to tidal turbine testing by several organizations, including Lunar Energy, Ltd., in East Yorkshire, England, which in March 2007 announced a deal with Germany-based power utility E.On UK, to develop a tidal stream power project of up to eight megawatts off Scotland’s west coast.

Meanwhile, Florida researchers may soon be testing both wave- and tide-powered energy technologies that could take advantage of the Gulf Stream, which flows north-northeastward about 15 miles (25 kilometers) off Florida’s southern and eastern shores at more than eight billion gallons (30 billion liters) per second. Researchers at Florida Atlantic University’s Center of Excellence in Ocean Energy Technology in Dania Beach, Fla., are using a $5-million state research grant awarded in late 2006 to develop air-conditioning technologies that tap into the powerful Gulf Stream and large water temperature differences off Florida’s shores. The researchers envision thousands of underwater turbines producing as much energy as 10 nuclear power plants and supplying one third of the state’s electricity. The university is working with academic, government and industry partners on the project, including the University of Central Florida in Orlando, the U.S. departments of Navy and Energy, Lockheed Martin, Oceaneering International, Inc., in Hanover, Md., and Verdant Power, which has provided them with a 10-foot (three-meter) diameter rotor system that they used during 2002 East River tests.

Verdant first began testing its three-blade, horizontal-axis turbines from the surface of the East River in 2002. There have been some hitches: Some of the turbines’ fiberglass blades broke under the tidal force. (The fiberglass blades will be replaced by the end of April with ones made of a magnesium alloy.)

Still, the site has produced nearly 50,000 kilowatt-hours of energy from December 2006 to May 2007. Verdant’s East River testing spot has the potential to support as many as 300 turbines and nearly 10 megawatts of installed capacity. Verdant has been working for the past several years to tweak its tidal turbines so that by the end of 2010 they can deliver up to 1.5 megawatts to the city’s electrical grid (800 households use about one megawatt).

The East River is not Verdant’s only site. The company is also testing its technology in Canada’s St. Lawrence River near Cornwall, Ontario, with the hope of creating a turbine infrastructure capable of producing an output of 15 megawatts. The company is also looking at sites in China and India.

It is unclear just how much it will cost to tap into energy from large bodies of water, since there is no tidal or wave power industry. Verdant’s Taylor says his company is at least two years away from being able to quote costs to potential customers. That said, a rough cost estimate for Verdant’s marine renewable energy technology is up to $3,600 per kilowatt hour—a higher price tag than wind power, fossil fuels or hydroelectric dams today, he says. However, he also points out that Verdant will be able to lower its costs over time through the mass production of its technology and the reduction of inefficiencies in the licensing and implementation processes.

The next step for Verdant in the U.S. is to apply for a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license that would allow the company to continue its pilot project attempting to prove tidal turbines can be a reliable source of energy for the city’s grid. It took four years to secure the necessary permits from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

That bureaucratic delay speaks to the difficulty of navigating the regulatory processes required to get such turbines into the water. Verdant’s Taylor says his company has spent about $9 million getting its East River project to its current state, with one third of that cost going toward studies gauging how the turbines might affect vessel navigation, aquatic life and fish migration. Although the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) chipped in $3 million toward the East River project, Taylor says the time and money spent to secure changing, and sometimes redundant, regulatory approval wastes precious time that could be used testing new technologies. “That’s got to change,” he adds. “The world is burning up, and we’re fiddling.”

For its part, FERC doesn’t see itself as fiddling as much as trying to find the right tune when it comes new hydroelectric technologies. Chairman Joseph Kelliher last year noted, “these technologies present some challenges relating to reliability, environmental and safety implications, and commercial viability.”

More projects:

In August 2007 nonprofit research and development firm SRI International and Japanese wave-powered generator maker Hyper Drive Corporation, Ltd., tested a prototype ocean wave–powered generator mounted on a buoy in Florida’s Tampa Bay. As the unit bobbed up and down, absorbing energy from the waves, an accordionlike device made of artificial muscle expanded and contracted, creating mechanical energy that was converted into electricity. In the fall SRI will test its more powerful and durable next-generation prototype wave-powered generator.

Finavera Renewables, a Vancouver, British Columbia, renewable-energy technology company, recently signed a contract to deliver power for San Francisco–based Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) by 2012. The deal is North America’s first commercial power purchase agreement for a two-megawatt wave-energy project. The PG&E project will be built about 2.5 miles (four kilometers) off the coast of Humboldt County, Calif., for electricity delivery to PG&E’s customers throughout the company’s northern and central California service territory. Finavera’s technology is the AquaBuOY, a floating structure that converts the up-and-down motion of waves into electricity.

The company was also granted a five-year operating license for its one-megawatt Makah Bay Offshore Wave Pilot Project in Washington State by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commissionthe first-ever FERC license issued for a wave, tidal or current energy project in the U.S. Finavera is also looking to develop wave-power projects off the coast of Oregon and South Africa, and is determining the feasibility of a five-megawatt wave energy project off the coast of Ucluelet, British Columbia.

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Finavera Granted FERC Prelim Permit for Humboldt Wave Energy

Finavera Renewables, Vancouver, Canada, February 15, 2008

Finavera Renewables is pleased to announce it has been issued a Preliminary Permit for its proposed 100MW Humboldt County, California wave energy project. The permit approval was granted by the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”).

The preliminary permit is valid for a period of three years, and allows Finavera Renewables to conduct various studies, including analyses of oceanographic conditions, commercial and recreational activities, and other impacts potentially associated with the planned project. The company will rely on the studies and stakeholder consultations in framing its application to FERC for a project operating license.

Finavera CEO Jason Bak said, “We believe the Humboldt County project could become the United States’ first commercial wave energy installation. This Preliminary Permit from FERC is a significant milestone that allows us to move forward on advanced planning for the project, and we look forward to working closely with the local community to ensure a successful project. We believe this project will illustrate how our innovative technology can contribute to the new energy economy through the creation of renewable electricity, jobs and ultimately, shareholder value. We are excited to be leaders in responding to the world’s need for clean energy.”

This permit continues the progress the Company has made over the last several months on its ocean energy activities. The Company signed a long term power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric for a 2 MW project in California. As well, FERC issued the first ever operating license for a wave energy project in the United States to Finavera Renewables for the Makah Bay Wave Pilot Project in Washington State.

The proposed Humboldt County project would use interconnected clusters of the company’s AquaBuOY wave energy devices. The project would have a generating capacity of 100MW, and total annual generation from the project is estimated to be approximately 175 gigawatt-hours per year. This is the company’s second Preliminary Permit on the west coast of the United States. The Coos County wave project in Oregon was granted a permit from FERC in 2007. Also, the Company holds an Investigative Use Permit for a wave energy project in Ucluelet, British Columbia.

To view the approved preliminary permit, please visit: HERE

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Finavera Announces $2M Private Placement

Finavera Renewables, February 4, 2008

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Finavera Renewables Inc is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement of 10,000,000 units at a price of $0.20 per unit for gross proceeds of $2,000,000. The units consist of one common share and one-half of a share purchase warrant, with each full warrant exercisable at $0.25 for 24 months from the date of the private placement. A finder’s fee will be payable in connection with the private placement.

Proceeds of the placement will be used for the continued development of Finavera Renewables’ wind and wave energy projects, and for general working capital.

About Finavera Renewables Inc.

Finavera Renewables Inc. is dedicated to the development of renewable energy resources and technologies. The Company’s objective is to become a major renewable and green energy producer by developing and operating its assets in the wind and wave energy sectors. Finavera Renewables Inc. is developing the licensed and patented ‘AquaBuOY’ wave energy technology, a device that is based on proven and sustainable buoy technology. The Company is developing wave energy projects for AquaBuOY use in the United States, Portugal, South Africa and Canada. One of those projects, in California, has secured a 2MW power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric. The Company is also developing other wind energy projects in Canada and Ireland. In Canada, a two stage 150 MW project is being developed in Alberta. Construction on this advance stage project is estimated to begin in 2008 and provides for near term revenue. In British Columbia, four projects totaling 366 MW have been entered into the provincial Environmental Assessment process, and several other sites are being developed. In Ireland, two pre-construction wind projects are under development with a potential capacity of 175MW. Data collection and environmental studies have been continuing at a number of sites in both countries.

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Troubled Seas: Washington DOE Challenges FERC License to Makah Wave Energy

ALYSSA MOIR, Marten Law Group, January 30, 2008

The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) took the unusual step this month of challenging a decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue a license for a wave energy project on the grounds that FERC had approved the project prior to having received certification from the State of Washington that the project complies with state environmental laws. The project, to be constructed in the Pacific Ocean just off Washington’s coast, appeared to clear a major hurdle in December, 2007 when FERC granted its first-ever wave project license to Finavera Renewables, Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia. Ecology is now requesting reconsideration of that decision.

Background

The Finavera project consists of four large wave buoys anchored three miles from shore that would produce one megawatt of electricity (enough to supply about 150 homes each year), transmitted to land by an undersea transmission line. The aquatic portion of the project is within Washington State waters, the federal Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary and the Washington State Flattery Rocks National Wildlife Refuge. The land portion of the project is within the Makah Indian Nation’s reservation.

Under the federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”) and the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), any FERC licensing decision must incorporate Ecology’s certification that the project is consistent with state environmental regulations. Specifically, Section 401 of the CWA requires that applicants seeking a license from a federal agency such as FERC, for any activity that may result in a discharge into navigable waters, must first receive a Section 401 water quality certification from the state that the proposed discharge will meet the state’s water quality standards and other aquatic protection regulations. The state may impose conditions on the certification of a project to assure compliance with various provisions of the CWA and with “any other appropriate requirement of State law.” Such conditions become mandatory conditions of the federal license, and cover both the construction and the operation of the proposed project. The state has one year to complete its certification review.

Similarly, under the CZMA, a federal agency cannot issue a license for a project within or affecting a state’s coastal zone without a determination that the project is consistent with the state’s coastal zone management program (CZMP). In Washington, the CZMP covers the state’s 15 coastal counties as well as activities outside those counties that may impact coastal resources. Any federal project within the CZMP must comply with six state laws: The Shoreline Management Act, the State Environmental Policy Act (“SEPA”), the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council and the Ocean Resources Management Act. In order to receive federal consistency certification for federal licenses, including FERC licenses, a project applicant must prepare a statement that the activity is consistent with the six laws and submit that statement directly to Ecology. Ecology then has six months to approve or deny the certification.

Because the aquatic portion of the Makah Bay project is, in part, within Washington State waters, Finavera filed a Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application (JARPA) seeking water quality certification from Ecology, and a statement of consistency with the CZMA, seeking Ecology’s agreement. Because the land portion of the project is within the Makah Indian Nation’s reservation, Finavera also requested a Section 401 water quality certification from the Makah Indian Tribe, which was issued in June of 2007. The need for the Makah’s certification arises under the CWA, which authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to treat a qualified Indian tribe as a state for purposes of certain sections of the CWA, including Section 401. The Makah Indian Tribe received its “Treatment as State” authorization and adopted surface water quality standards in 2006, which include a process for Section 401 Certification.

Under an agreement between Finavera and Ecology, Ecology’s CZMA decision was stayed until it issued its Section 401 Certification decision, which is due in mid-February 2008. However, before Ecology reached a decision on whether to issue the requested certifications, FERC issued its license to Finavera on December 21, 2007.

FERC’s Fast-Tracked License for the Makah Bay Project

Depending on one’s perspective, obtaining state approval prior to federal licensing is either a clear and efficient process or a burdensome barrier to realizing the potential of new technologies. FERC’s traditional procedure has ensured compliance with state laws designed to protect a state’s water quality and shorelines, but has also resulted in delays in project developers’ non-construction activities, such as obtaining financing or power purchase agreements with utilities. Citing the benefits of hydrokinetic power and the quickly increasing number of hydrokinetic permit applications, FERC is now acting on its announced intent to accelerate the development of the new technology while also monitoring its environmental impacts and collecting information for future projects.

FERC’s commitment to this policy is evidenced by its December 20, 2007 decision to conditionally license the Makah Bay project. Released on November 30, 2007, FERC’s new policy applies to new hydrokinetic projects only, and involves issuing project licenses where FERC has completed processing an application but other authorizations, including state certifications, remain outstanding. The pilot licenses include conditions precluding the licensee from beginning construction until it has received all of the necessary authorizations. This is similar to pilot licenses that FERC has issued under the Natural Gas Act (NGA), which fast-tracked the construction of liquefied natural gas facilities. However, this is the first time that FERC has applied this policy to a hydropower project.

The license for the Makah Bay project grants Finavera a conditional five-year license for the proposed project, and includes measures for monitoring the effects of the project on marine and ocean resources, and a requirement to remove the project at the end of the license term. The license is conditioned on Finavera obtaining all additional federal and state permits before construction may begin. Finavera had already signed a purchase power agreement with PG&E just prior to FERC’s licensing decision. While it finalizes its Section 401 Certification and CZMA consistency certification with Ecology, Finavera is now able to move forward with the portions of the license that do not require construction, such as environmental plans. If any adverse environmental impacts arise, the pilot license contains a provision to shut down or remove the project.

Ecology’s Response

In its request for a rehearing, Ecology argues that FERC ignored Congress’ intent to reserve to the states the responsibility for certifying compliance with water quality standards and coastal management regulations. Ecology’s Director, Jay Manning, has said that although the agency “fully supports renewable energy projects in Washington, especially those designed to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gases and other climate-changing pollutants,” FERC “does not have the authority – by statute or Congressional intent – to set aside existing environmental laws designed to protect our state’s water quality and shorelines.” Gordon White, manager for Ecology’s Shorelands and Environmental Assistance program, said that the agency was set to make a 401 Certification decision for Finavera by mid-February, and was also on course in its determinations that the project was consistent with the state CZMA.

Ecology also disagrees with FERC’s assertion that because it has fast-tracked licenses under the NGA, similar procedures can be used to issue hydrokinetic licenses. Ecology argues that “the fact that the Commission, on more than one occasion, elected to issue licenses under the NGA in advance of compliance with Section 401 of the CWA does not indicate that such an approach is consistent with the legal requirements of Section 401. Nor does it lend support in this case where the Commission is issuing a license under the FPA [Federal Power Act].” The agency also takes FERC to task by arguing that “the mere fact that it may take the applicant some time to obtain a water quality certification does not provide [FERC] with the authority to ignore the clear terms of Section 401(a)(1).” Instead, Ecology proposes, FERC could issue draft licenses notifying developers of the conditions that it intends to impose, or simply issue a license the day after an applicant receives its water quality certification.

In broader terms, Ecology has expressed concern that FERC’s issuance of a temporary license has created uncertainty for other developers and regulators as to whether a project has FERC’s approval. Because FERC has indicated that issuance of a conditioned license will constitute a final agency action, subject to rehearing, developers believing that they can move forward with non-construction elements of a project may still face delays as state agencies request rehearings as a means to clarify FERC’s new policy. Further, Ecology notes that pilot licenses do not give developers assurance that their project will indeed meet all environmental regulations as required, potentially creating difficulties in developing environmental plans or obtaining reliable funding.

Practical Implications

Over a dozen in-water renewable energy projects, in California, Oregon, and Washington, are either in the process of obtaining state environmental permits, or about to begin this process. While FERC’s pilot license policy may facilitate moving renewable energy projects forward more quickly, project developers are now caught between FERC’s policy and the State’s argument that the developer must first demonstrate compliance with state environmental laws. The issue of whether the developer needs to acquire state permits prior to receiving its FERC license has been brought to the forefront by Ecology’s request for reconsideration of FERC’s decision, and both developers and regulators have a substantial stake in the outcome.

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FERC Approves Wave Energy Project at Makah

December 2007: Compelling documents — Approved FERC Order and official announcements related to Makah Bay wave energy project being undertaken by Finavera. -LKBlog

Thanks for Tom Schlosser at Morisett Schlosser for these docs: Here is the FERC announcement and the statements of commissioners Spitzer and Kelliher.

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PG&E to Invest in Wave Energy

MATT NAUMAN, Mercury News, December 18, 2007

UTILITY WILL BUY 2 MEGAWATTS FROM FACILITY BY 2012

PG&E will become the first U.S. utility to agree to buy energy from the ocean when it announces a deal today to get 2 megawatts of power by 2012 from the cold, choppy waters off the Northern California coast.

The deal, with Finavera Renewables, a Canadian company, could eventually lead to the building of a “wave farm” about 2.5 miles off the coast of Eureka in Humboldt County.

A wave farm would connect many of Finavera’s AquaBuoys, a device that forces sea water into a turbine, in a spiderlike, eight-arm pattern. The flow of ocean water turns the turbines, which in turn generate electricity. An undersea cable brings the power to shore.

Experts see lots of potential for wave energy, but they concede it’s all just beginning. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, for instance, has received about 75 applications for wave projects on both coasts and in Alaska, but hasn’t granted a single license yet.

“Wave energy is in the early stages of development,” said Uday Mathur, an energy-procurement principal for Pacific Gas & Electric. “It’s where wind power was 10 to 15 years ago.”

And Finavera’s CEO, while calling the deal “a huge boost for the industry,” said Monday that his company needs to improve its technology and get financing, and that it faces a long regulatory approval process from FERC.

The Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto based and industry backed, sees tremendous upside for wave energy. “An average of 37,000 megawatts of energy dissipates on California’s 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) of coastline,” according to an EPRI report released in March. “Using present-day technology, a maximum of about 20 percent of that energy could be converted into useful electricity.”

Roger Bedard, a co-author of that report and EPRI’s ocean-energy leader, sees “a lot of potential for wave energy.” He admits, though, that the FERC-approval process is fraught with uncertainties. It’s a classic Catch-22, he said – regulators want proof that wave energy will be environmentally safe, but that can’t be proven until projects are up and operating.

Jason Bak, Finavera’s chief executive officer, is both bold and cautious.

He forecasts that wave energy could someday – he won’t say when – provide 5 percent of America’s energy needs, or the equivalent of 300 gigawatts of power.

At the same time, he said, Finavera needs the power purchase agreement from PG&E to be able to raise the money to build the project.

The goal, Bak said, is to produce power that costs 5 to 8 cents per kilowatt hour, but he admits that won’t happen with PG&E’s 2-megawatt project. When? “Perhaps after 100 megawatts have been installed in the world,” he said.

Neither Finavera nor PG&E would reveal the cost of the wave-energy project.

As PG&E seeks to meet California’s mandate that it get 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010, it has actively added to its power-purchase agreements in 2007 with new deals for solar (737 megawatts), wind (235 megawatts), geothermal (25.5 megawatts) and now wave power.

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Wave Energy Goes Commercial

MARIANNE LAVELLE, U.S. News & World Report, December 18, 2007

The idea of harnessing energy from ocean waves to produce electricity for U.S. homes and businesses takes a giant leap forward today as the nation’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, announces the first commercial agreement to purchase power generated with this cutting-edge technology.

PG&E signed the deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, with the Canadian firm Finavera Renewables, a company that has had more than its share of jostles in recent weeks in the struggle to keep the hope of clean wave power afloat. The initial project would be relatively small—2 megawatts—and would be constructed about 2.5 miles off the coast of Eureka, Calif., with electricity to be delivered to customers onshore in northern and central California. A megawatt of conventional energy powers about 750 homes, but because wave power—like its renewable energy brethren, wind and solar—will be intermittent, the amount of electricity delivered is expected to be somewhat less.

But PG&E says the significance of the deal is large. “If you think about what this means to the energy security, this is monumental, because we are now going to have an example of the type of project that will be developed,” says PG&E spokesman Keely Wachs. The first step to making wave energy a reality is to prove it can work, especially to potential financial backers.

Finavera’s technology involves floating clusters of patented devices it calls AquaBuOYs several kilometers offshore, where ocean waves are strong. The wave energy is captured by two-stroke hose pumps underneath each buoy; pressurized seawater turns turbines that drive an electrical generator, and the power is transmitted ashore by an undersea transmission line. Finavera has an animation demonstrating its technology here.

However, the company suffered a setback in late October when a bilge pump failed in an AquaBuOY test off the coast of Oregon and the device sank to the ocean floor only a day before it was to be retrieved. Finavera, which trades on the TSX Venture exchange, earlier this month announced that although “there were a number of positive outcomes from the testing,” it had decided to take a $5.8 million write-off due to the AquaBuOY loss. The company said it had a $4.1 million deficit.

A few days later, Finavera announced that it had received commitments from a group of founders and significant shareholders for a private placement of $1.1 million to $2 million—not covering the shortfall. But chief executive Jason Bak said it allowed the company “to move forward without unnecessarily diluting shareholders at current prices.” Finavera is trading at about 15 cents per share after reaching a high of 90 cents earlier in the year.

With the PG&E announcement, Bak said in a statement, “There’s now a visible light at the end of the tunnel for offshore wave energy.”

Wachs of PG&E says the utility is “cautiously optimistic” about wave energy’s potential and, in fact, is also seeking to develop its own wave energy projects in addition to the power purchase agreement with Finavera. “We know there is huge potential from pure energy calculations, yet converting that will require us to do our due diligence and make investments to develop the technologies before we fully capture that potential,” he said.

California’s northern coastline is considered to have great potential because of its proximity to the powerful ocean-swelling storms that originate in the Aleutian Islands to the north. The California Energy Commission calls ocean wave energy “one of the most concentrated and widely available forms of renewable energy in coastal areas.”

But some in the fishing industry and coastal communities have raised questions about the impact of creating “wave parks,” or clusters of buoys offshore. Finavera says its arrays would be “no more noticeable than a small fleet of fishing boats.” But in Oregon, Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a huge booster of the technology, recently was forced to defuse tensions that have risen over potential projects by announcing he intends to ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to limit the number of sites available for wave energy parks to between five and seven. Finavera has demonstration projects proposed in Oregon, Washington State, Canada, and Portugal, but the PG&E deal is the first commitment from a utility to purchase wave power.

One factor driving PG&E’s interest in wave as well as wind, solar, and other forms of renewable energy is California’s state law—one of the most aggressive in the nation—requiring that utilities generate 20 percent of their energy from renewables by 2010. PG&E currently has a 12 percent renewables mix, and the company says it is on track to exceed 20 percent (either under contract or delivered) in two years as required.

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Finavera Granted a License for Makah Bay Project

RALPH THOMAS, Seattle Times Olympia Bureau, December 21, 2007

OLYMPIA — The waters off Makah Bay near the tip of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula could become home to the world’s first commercial wave-energy project.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Thursday issued its first license for a so-called hydrokinetic energy project to British Columbia-based Finavera Renewables, a company working to develop wind- and wave-energy projects in the U.S., Canada, Ireland and South Africa.

If all goes as planned, Finavera’s Makah Bay Wave Pilot Project would begin generating enough electricity to supply at least 150 homes by 2011.

“This is very, very significant,” Jason Bak, Finavera’s CEO, said Thursday. “The road has pretty much been cleared for us.”

But the company still must find investors for the project and someone to buy the power. And, under conditions of the FERC license, Finavera cannot begin construction until it gets all the necessary environmental permits.

Still, the company and federal regulators hailed Thursday’s action.

“Today is historic as we enter a new energy frontier,” FERC Commissioner Philip Moeller said in a written statement. “For the first time, we allow the harnessing of electricity from wave-energy power that results from the gravitational pull of the moon.”

Finavera is one of several companies racing to develop technology to capture hydrokinetic energy along the wind-swept coastline of the Pacific Northwest — where waves big enough to generate power are present nearly all the time.

To date, Finavera is the only company that has sought an FERC license to move ahead on a project. But numerous companies have applied for permits to begin studying proposed projects.

A Seattle-based company, for instance, has applied for a permit to conduct a feasibility study on what would be a massive wind- and wave-energy farm along a 28-square-mile stretch along the coast at Westport and Ocean Shores, Grays Harbor County.

Finavera also is hoping to develop a wave-energy project off the coast of Northern California, where earlier this week the company announced a power-purchasing agreement with a major U.S. utility.

Bak said another company’s proposed wave-energy project in Portugal is the only other one worldwide that is nearing commercial status.

Ideas abound for capturing wave power, including some that are quite elaborate. Finavera’s approach sounds fairly simple: wave-energy buoys that use the heaving motion of the ocean to drive a piston that forces seawater through a turbine.

This fall, the company deployed its first test wave-energy buoy off the coast of Newport, Ore.

The 75-foot-tall prototype buoy performed well, Bak said. But when the company was trying to retrieve the buoy, it began taking on water and sank.

The company hopes it can figure out what went wrong after it retrieves the buoy during the first good weather break next month.

Finavera’s Makah Bay project calls for four wave-energy buoys, each capable of producing 250 kilowatts of power. The buoys would be connected to a nearly 4-mile-long underwater transmission line that would carry the electricity to shore, where it would be fed into the grid through a Clallam County Public Utility District line.

The PUD has twice signed agreements to purchase power from the project, but both expired. An official from the utility said it would be “very interested” in renewing the agreement.

According to Finavera, the aquatic portions of the project would fall within state waters as well as within the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary and the Washington State Flattery Rocks National Wildlife Refuge.

Bak said the company needs to get permits from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He said he isn’t aware of any required state permits.

In a news release announcing the license, FERC said Finavera must develop a plan for monitoring the underwater transmission cable to make sure it remains in place and doesn’t entangle debris. The company also must assess whether noise from the buoys will have any impact on marine mammals.

The license also gives FERC authority to shut down or remove the project if it is found to be harming the environment.

Bak said one of the biggest challenges will be finding investors. He pointed out that investors have poured billions of dollars into developing solar and biofuel technologies.

“Now we need to see some of that capital come into wave energy,” Bak said.

 

 

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First Wave Energy Project Conditionally Approved

On December 21, the Finavera Renewables Ocean Energy, Ltd conditionally secured a FERC license for its hydrokinetic power project located 1.9 nautical miles offshore Washington State. The 5-year license to the Makah Bay Offshore Wave Pilot Project is designed “to demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of wave energy conversion power plants near coastal communities.” The project will generate an average of 1,500 MWh annually.

The innovative technology is powered by a closed-loop hydraulic system inside four (4) 19.5 feet x 16.4 feet buoys filled with 1,850 gallons of fresh water. An acceleration tube converts a wave’s kinetic energy into pressurized water through a piston system that lowers and stretches with each wave motion, thereby pressurizing water to the nozzles of a turbine housed near the top of a buoy. A 3.7 mile submarine transmission cable anchored to the ocean floor will lead to an onshore connection to the utility grid.

FERC Commissioner Moeller lauded the license since “[c]onsumers are demanding more renewable energy options, especially those sources that are domestic, renewable, and carbon-free.” Commission Moeller added that “it demonstrates this Commission’s proactive approach to enable the development of this and other sources of hydropower.”

The license is conditioned on, among other things, Finavera’s written notification to FERC that all other authorizations have been obtained as required under federal law. This condition is consistent with the agency’s November 2007 Policy Statement on Conditioned Licenses for Hydrokinetic Projects in which FERC enumerated its policy of conditioning licenses to hydrokinetic projects “on the licensee being precluded from commencing construction until the necessary authorizations are received.”

Finavera filed its application on November 8, 2006, and construction must be completed within three years from the effective date of the license.

— from Energy Legal Blog at http://energylegalblog.com/

 

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Wave Energy Buoy Sinks Day Before Its Removal

Finavera had been collecting data before the buoy took on water and bilge pump fails

LORI TOBIAS, The Oregonia, November 1, 2007

NEWPORT — The first wave energy test buoy deployed off the Oregon coast has sunk.

Engineers with the Canadian energy developer Finavera Renewables learned the $2 million buoy plunged to the ocean floor only a day before they were to remove the 72-foot tall device, Finavera spokesman Mike Clark said Wednesday.

Aquabuoy 2.0 was built by Oregon Iron Works in Portland and deployed Sept. 6 about 2.5 miles off Agate Beach.

Since then, Finavera has been collecting data from the buoy by computer. But late last week the buoy began taking on water, and the bilge pump failed.

“The bilge pump is monitored, and we knew that there was something going on from the data,” Clark said. Engineers visited the buoy to prepare to retrieve it, but when they returned Saturday, it had sank.

The buoy is about 150 feet below the ocean’s surface. The firm plans to recover it, Clark said, but will have to wait until spring when ocean conditions are calmer.

Meanwhile, the buoy shouldn’t cause any problems, he said.

“I know there may be concerns about environmental impacts, but part of the benefit of the design of the device is there are no hydraulic oils,” Clark said. “There is little if any environmental impact from having this down there. Basically it is metal with a piece of rubber hose in it.”

But the fishing community isn’t so sure it’s harmless.

“This validates our concerns,” said Al Pazar, chairman of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission. “We’ve got a big chunk of iron laying at the bottom of the ocean which will probably gobble up a bunch of crab gear. It’s just another place for things to collect and make a big mess. There is a learning curve here, and we are way at the bottom of it.”

Despite the sinking, Clark called the test run a success, and the information gathered will be used to develop the next buoy.

“From our perspective it doesn’t hamper the development of the technology at all. This device was going to be broken down anyway and was not going to be put back out in the water. But the end result a day before we were to get it out of the water was not something we would have wished for.”

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A Sea of Potential in Alaska

BRIAN VANITY, insurgent49, September 1, 2006

As any mariner knows, the oceans are packed full of energy. The energy contained in the seas can destroy ships but, if harnessed correctly, can also be used to generate electricity.

There are several types of energy, which can be extracted from the Alaska’s ocean waters, the two most promising being tidal, and wave energy. Tidal energy is derived from the cyclic rise and fall of the ocean’s tides, while wave energy is harnessed from rapid rise and fall motion of the ocean waves, which are mostly created by the wind. Ocean current energy is extracted from deep-level currents, which are caused by the thermal circulation of the earth’s weather system.

Tidal, wave, and ocean current energy are directly related to conventional hydroelectric power, in that they are all variations of the mechanical energy of moving water. Offshore wind energy is also considered ocean energy, and several offshore wind farms have been built in Europe’s North Sea. In Alaska today, the only wind energy proposals in the state involve on-shore projects.

Tidal Energy

Tidal power uses the energy of the moving ocean tides, which are driven by the gravitational pull of the moon and, to a lesser extent, the sun. The power output is variable, but predictable years in advance.

The natural ebb and flow of the tides potentially offers a huge future energy source for Alaska. In contrast to other variable renewable energy sources such as wind power, the tides are predictable.

Although tidal energy was first used in European grain mills hundreds of years ago, only a handful of tidal power plants exist in the world today, so operational experience is limited. These existing tidal plants are barrage-style, which involve the capital-intensive construction of large tidal dams across an estuary or inlet. Such large structures that block tidal flows usually have significant environmental impacts, similar to those of large dams on rivers.

The largest existing tidal power plant, a 240-megawatt MW facility on the La Rance estuary in northern France, has caused negative environmental effects since being completed in 1966. The only other large-scale tidal power plant in operation today is the 20 MW Annapolis Royal facility, located along the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia.

Tidal current energy, also called ‘in-stream’ or ‘hydrokinetic’ tidal energy, is a different form of tidal power generation that does not require barrages or dams. In constricted ocean channels or inlets, the changing tidal water level can create strong tidal currents. Low-impact tidal current turbines, which and resemble underwater versions of wind turbines, are still under development. Research, development, and capital costs are high since the technology is mostly in the experimental stage, and have borrowed from many advanced in wind energy technology.

Several tidal energy sites are under investigation across the USA. In Washington, the city of Tacoma is investigating the tidal energy potential of the Tacoma Narrows of Puget Sound. The company Verdant Power (www.verdantpower.com) is installing six 36-kW tidal turbines in the East River of New York City, with the installation of the first two turbines to be completed by the end of this year. The six tidal turbines will power a shopping center and parking garage on Roosevelt Island, which is located between the boroughs of Queens and Manhattan.

In Europe, an array of tidal turbines is also being built in northern Norway (www.e-tidevannsenergi.com), with 540 kW of generation capacity to be installed by the end of 2006. Lunar Energy (www.lunarenergy.co.uk), HydroVenturi (www.hydroventuri.com) and Marine Current Turbines (www.marineturbines.com) are three promising tidal current turbine upstart firms from the UK, where the government is very supportive of ocean energy research.

Both wave and tidal energy devices will soon begin tests at the new European Marine Energy Centre (www.emec.org.uk), which is located in the Orkneys Islands north of Scotland. The Scottish government has pledged that the country generate 18% of its power from renewable resources by 2010, and this new marine energy testing center will be the largest such facility in the world.

Alaska has many sites with strong tides along its lengthy coast, including both large tidal ranges between high and low tides, and strong tidal currents. Parts of the Alaska coastline have some of the strongest tides in the world, including the upper Cook Inlet around Anchorage. Bristol Bay, Cordova, Seldovia, Angoon and other locations in Southeast Alaska also have strong tidal currents.

The tidal power potential of Alaska has been studied since the 1950s, although no tidal energy systems yet exist in Alaska. Over the past several decades, a number of tidal energy studies have been conducted on Cook Inlet. All of these proposed the construction of large concrete barrages (seawater dams) and the use of conventional bulb-type, “low-head” hydropower turbines. Various ‘barrage schemes’ for upper Cook Inlet were studied up until the early 1980s.

Tidal Electric of Alaska’s tidal energy feasibility study for Cordova proposed a large, concrete-enclosed ‘tidal tank’, a modification on the traditional tidal barrage, and would have still used conventional bulb-type turbines. A 1998 feasibility study conducted in Cordova estimated a $14 million initial cost for a 5000-kW system, or $2800 per kW of installed capacity. Electricity generated from the nearby 6000-kW Power Creek hydroelectric project, which was completed in 2001, was found be more economical. The Cordova tidal energy studies between 1998 and 2000 were the most recent investigations conducted, though did not lead to any development.

Hydrokinetic or in-stream current energy has only recently been under investigation for use in Alaska. The Underwater Electric Kite Corporation (www.uekus.com) has proposed an in-stream turbine installation for the town of Eagle on the Yukon River, with 270 kW to be installed. This project was first proposed in 2003, though still has not received funding. Next door in British Columbia, the provincial electric utility BC Hydro commissioned a 2002 study on tidal current energy, which concluded that the theoretical tidal current power potential of the BC coast is just over 2200 MW.

Knik Arm has the potential of being a good site for a tidal current power plant, with strong currents four times each day. Also, Elmendorf Air Force Base, on the east side of the arm, has significant electrical infrastructure and demand for power. The site also has a close proximity to the Port of Anchorage, which would serve as a base of operations for both construction and maintenance.

The currents and depth are good for the site, but there is are several other concerns that could derail a project, most importantly concern over marine mammals in Knik Arm. Upper Cook Inlet’s Beluga whale count was low this year, worrying marine biologists. A recent report by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) recommended that ‘Alaskan stakeholders’ commission a studies on sub-surface ice behavior, future trends in seabed movement, conduct a site-specific regulatory and environmental assessment, and more detailed tidal current velocity measurements. Deploying an array of tidal current turbines at the Cairn Point site in Knik Arm could produce an average of 17 MW or power from the tidal currents, enough to power over 10,000 average Anchorage homes.

The Alaska tidal energy rush has already started. One upstart tidal energy developer, the Miami-based Ocean Renewable Power Company (www.oceanrenewablepower.com), has recently applied for preliminary permits with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) at seven Alaska locations. However, they already have a bad reputation within the close-knit tidal energy industry.

If approved, a preliminary FERC permit gives a developer three years exclusive access to a site. In the case of these two firms, it is likely that they only intend to “bank” the sites and auction them off for its own private gain when tidal technology matures a few years down the line. Many in the industry are accusing the Oceana and Ocean Power Renewable companies of blocking access to prime sites by applying for permits with no intention of developing them.

Sean O’Neill, president of a new trade group called the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition recently told Bloomberg News that “Speculation, and the fact it could hold up a site for anywhere from three to six years, that certainly is not good for the industry… Any company that is banking sites should be tarred and feathered.” So in all likelihood, lawsuits over Alaskan tidal energy sites are quite possible for the near future. For more information, read the Bloomberg News article on the web: (www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=45668&src=rss).

Wave Energy

Though often co-mingled, wave power is a diffierent technology than tidal power generation. However, like tidal energy technology, wave power generation is not yet a widely employed technology, with only a few experimental sites in existence. Worldwide, wave power could yield much more energy than tidal power.

The Earth’s total tidal dissipation (friction, measured by the slowing of the planet’s rotation) is 2.5 terawatts, or about the same amount of power that would be gennerated by 2,500 typical nuclear power plants. The energy potential of waves is certainly greater, and wave power can be exploited in many more locations than tidal energy.

Large wave energy potential is estimated for Alaska’s, thousands of miles of coastline, which is more than the length of coast for the other 49 states combined. Some of the most powerful waves in the world are found in Alaska, and the southern Pacific coastal arc of Alaska (stretching from Ketchikan to Attu) has a theoretical wave energy potential estimated to be 1,250 TWh per year, or 300 times more electricity consumed by Alaskans today.

There are a wide variety of wave energy conversion technologies being tested, ranging from “bobbing corks” to giant metal “sea snakes”. The Pelamis Wave Energy Converter is being developed by an upstart wave energy technology company from Edinburgh, Scotland (www.oceanpd.com/default.html ).

Ocean Power Delivery (OPD), developer of the Pelamis device, has secured over $23.6 million of new investment from a consortium of new and existing investors. In May 2005, OPD signed an order with a Portuguese consortium to deliver the initial phase of the world’s first commercial wave-farm. OPD recently delivered the first three production machines to Portugal, where they will be installed following final assembly and commissioning by the end of 2006. The three units are planned to have a total generating capacity of 2.25 MW, or about enough to power a town of 1000 people.

Another upstart wave energy company, the AquaEnergy Group (www.aquaenergygroup.com ), is working on a four-“bouy” installation with one MW of capacity, to be located three miles offshore of Makah Bay, Washington. The wave energy upstart Ocean Power Technologies (www.oceanpowertechnologies.com ) has already deployed its PowerBouy in Hawaii and New Jersey, and is planning an installation in northern Spain. Other wave power generation projects are under development off the coasts of Italy, Spain, South Africa and Oregon.

The Future for Ocean Energy in Alaska

Knik Arm is the most promising commerical tidal energy site in the state, due to its close proximity to Anchorage. Also, offshore wind or tidal turbines mounted on abandoned oil and gas platforms in Cook Inlet, though new underwater electric transmission cables would be needed. To find more promising sites, a statewide study of Alaska’s tidal and wave energy potential is needed. In the future, utility-scale tidal power could also help the urban Alaska energy situation, which is faced with looming increases in natural gas prices. Tidal energy research and development in Alaska could establish the state as a world leader in ocean power technology.

Given the length of its coastline and the strength of the seas, both wave and tidal energy are well worth exploring for Alaska’s future energy needs

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