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Wave power: a new source of renewable energy

Posted by: Maven on August 20, 2007 at 9:02 pm

From the High Country News:

Following passage of a statewide ballot initiative last year, Washington’s big utilities were required to beef up their renewable energy sources – not including traditional hydropower. Collar believes that underwater turbines turned by tides at Deception Pass and elsewhere in the Sound can one day provide electricity for up to 60,000 homes. And the Snohomish utility is hardly alone in testing the waters: Up and down the coast, utilities and private developers worried about climate change and oil dependency are putting money into this newest source of power – the Pacific Ocean.

Ocean power in the West is only in the preliminary stages – there are currently no devices in the water on the West Coast – but already environmentalists, fishermen and even divers are gearing up for a battle. Some observers hark back to the West’s one-time embrace of dams. “We heard very similar comments about hydro-power decades ago – it’s cheap, clean, all those nice catchphrases. We’re living with the results, good and bad,” says Clint Muns, director of resource management for the Puget Sound Anglers State Board.

Local environmentalists are concerned about possible impacts to fish as well as to scenery. Deception Pass is not only one of the most-visited state parks in Washington, but also an “outstanding natural area that has every salmon from the Snohomish and Skagit (running) through it,” says Steve Erickson of the Whidbey Island Environmental Action Network. “This is not a place to experiment.”

Oregon and Northern California seem right for wave development, but what about Southern California? The article has this to say:

Southern California has two obstacles: the coastline’s sudden eastward tilt, which blocks some waves, and the Channel Islands. “To get big waves for Southern California, you have to go out 20 miles,” says Bedard.

To read the rest of this story from High Country News, click here.

August 20, 2007 · Filed Under Oceans & Beaches

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