Wave Energy Park comes to the Oregon Coast – 4.140 Mwatts-hours per year

OPT is developing the first commercial wave park on the West Coast of the United States located 2.5 miles offshore near Reedsport, Oregon. The wave park will consist of ten (10) PB150 PowerBuoys, an undersea substation to collect the power, and a submarine cable to deliver the renewable power to the Pacific Northwest electric grid. Each PB150 PowerBuoy® has a maximum sustained generating capacity of 150 kiloWatts.

The estimated amount of electricity this project will deliver to the grid is approximately 4,140 MegaWatt-hours/year based on the wave resource at this location, or enough for up to 375 homes. Electricity generated by OPT’s clean, renewable PowerBuoy system will displace 2,110 tons of carbon dioxide annually1. The power created by the Reedsport project is expected to be delivered to the Pacific Northwest Generating Cooperative (PNGC Power). The Reedsport preliminary permit application can accommodate up to 50 MW for potential future expansion at this site.

Initial Site of the Proposed Reedsport OPT Wave Park

PROJECT DETAILS Location: Reedsport, Oregon, USA Status: Environmental Assessment in Progress Total Generating Capacity: up to 1.5 MW in the first stage TECHNOLOGY Buoy Specification: PB150 Application: Grid Connected Major Components: Up to Ten (10) PB150 PowerBuoys Underwater Substation Pod (USP) Submarine Cable from PowerBuoy Array to Land Based Substation Estimated Annual Generation: Approximately 4,140 Megawatt-Hours Estimated CO2 Savings: Approximately 2,110 tons CO2/year PROJECT PARTNERS Owner: Reedsport OPT Wave Energy Partners, LLC Power Purchaser: PNGC Power Douglas Electric Cooperative Central Lincoln People’s Utility District Project Shareholders: PNGC Power Douglas Electric Cooperative Bonneville Power Administration

The project is currently in the environmental permitting phase. OPT anticipates filing a Final License Application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2009 and then proceeding to the next stages of installing and commissioning the wave park.

OPT is engaging in a collaborative process in developing the Reedsport project. We believe this approach demonstrates our commitment to developing wave potential which maximizes benefits to all stakeholders and demonstrates long-term environmental stewardship of coastal resources.

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Posted by Gordon Smith on Feb 18 2010. Filed under Latest Ocean News, Ocean Power Technologies & Projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.