Monster Wave Of Marine Energy About To Hit US Shores

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Harnessing the infinite power of ocean waves and tides has been a long, slow slog, but the waiting could be over. Democratic members of the House of Representatives have come up with a $1 billion scheme to launch the US marine energy industry into the big leagues, to take its rightful place alongside the wind and solar juggernauts pushing the rnewable energy industry.

$1 Billion For Marine Energy

The big question is whether or not US lawmakers will approve a new $1 billion funding package for the marine energy industry. That depends on who wins which elections, so hold on to your hats.

In the meantime, it’s no surprise to find a group of Democratic Representatives from coastal states behind the new measure, including Nanette Barragán (CA) and Suzanne Bonamici (OR) who introduced the new bill under the title, “Marine Energy Technologies Acceleration Act.”

Also lining up in support were Democratic representatives Ed Case (HI), Rashida Tlaib (MI.), Kevin Mullin (CA), Val Hoyle (OR), Troy Carter (LA), Salud Carbajal (CA), and Anne Kuster (NH).

In terms of marine energy and coastal states, Tlaib would appear to be an outlier until you recall that thing about Lake Michigan. Researchers from the Graham Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan have already embarked on a significant wave energy assessment for Beaver Island in Lake Michigan.

About 600 permanent residents live on Beaver Island. They currently depend on “fragile power connections and diesel generators” as described by the research team.

The researchers anticipate that the wave energy project will have an impact far beyond the residents of Beaver Island. “The project is designed to be highly transferable, with the potential to benefit thousands of islands across the U.S. facing similar energy challenges,” they emphasize.

The focus on island communities also reflects insights shared at an energy conference at The Hague last year. Participants noted that energy planners in remote locations are not solely focused on the cheapest forms of energy. Reliability and sustainability also have value, in addition to the local quality-of-life improvements that occur when noisy, polluting diesel generators are pushed out of the picture.

In addition, the Energy Department has organized a network of wave and current testing facilities of various sorts all over the US through its TEAMER initiative. Jobs, education and other activities related to those facilities could help motivate other lawmakers in non-coastal states to support the Marine Energy Technologies Acceleration Act.

A Place In The Sun For Marine Energy

Marine energy advocates point out that, by the numbers, their favorite form of renewable energy has some significant advantages over wind and solar power.

The numbers are impressive. “Water moves naturally all around the world and provides a multitude of opportunities to harness energy for our power grid,” the Energy Department explains, including interior waterways along with oceans.

“The power coursing through oceans and rivers equates to nearly 60% of the United States’ total electricity needs,” they add.

Wave and tidal devices remove land use conflicts from the negotiating table, though they can still run into objections from commercial fishers and other maritime stakeholders. Those conflicts aside, marine energy devices sit low above, or entirely underneath, the surface of the water, negating the “eyesore” objections to offshore wind turbines.

Rep. Barragán also notes that marine energy facilities can generate power locally at population centers. “Nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population lives in coastal communities where marine energy resources are abundant and offer tremendous potential to power our communities with clean, renewable energy,” Barragán explained in a press statement earlier this week.

CleanTechnica has been keeping tabs on federal government’s support for the US marine energy industry, which includes a wave energy test site located at a US military facility in Hawaii, set up back in 2010. That facility has been upgraded several times since then. More recently, an ambitious new open-water test site on the Oregon coast has also added to the nation’s support for marine energy innovators. A new $1 billion funding pot would build on these resources.

The Marine Energy Industry Is Coming For Your Fossil Fuels

Aside from generating clean kilowatts sometime in the future, the marine energy industry has already attracted a substantial amount of economic activity in the US here and now.

The list of private firms, organizations and other stakeholders on record in support of the Marine Energy Technologies Acceleration Act includes several that have crossed the CleanTechnica radar, including CalWave, Eco Wave Power, Emrgy, Ocean Renewable Power Company, Ocean Power Technologies, and Verdant Power.

Other supporters cited by the lawmakers are the Altasea innovation and business campus at the Port of Los Angeles, Anacapa Wave, Aquantis, Atlantic Marine Energy Center, Biosonics, Bluewater Network, C-Power, Cardinal Engineering, DLZ Corporation, Ecomerit,  FluxMagic Inc., Hawaii Marine Energy Center, Hydrokinetic Energy Corp., Littoral Power, Marine Energy Council, National Hydropower Association,  Ocean Conservancy, Ocean Energy USA Inc., Oscilla Power, Pacific Environment, Pacific Marine Energy Center, Pacific Ocean Energy Trust, PacWave, PB Mechanical Consulting Service, Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center, Streamwise Development, Tidal Energy Corp.,  Tide Mill Institute, Thompson Metal Fab, Triton Systems, Water Bros Diesel, and 3U Technologies.

And The First Onshore Marine Energy Test Will Be …

One other thing that characterizes the marine energy field is the startling array of different systems aimed at harvesting the natural movement of water. That is especially evident in the tidal energy field, where designs range from compact turbines discretely tethered to the seabed, on up to massive infrastructure projects such as the proposed barrage-type tidal project in the UK.

On the wave energy side, most of the devices to cross the CleanTechnica radar are buoy-type systems designed for open-ocean use, providing for the opportunity to piggyback them with offshore wind farms and other maritime infrastructure.

Wave energy devices can also be attached to seawalls, piers, and other onshore infrastructure. The Israeli startup Eco Wave Power has come up one such energy harvesting system. It is currently being installed at the AltaSea campus at the Port of Los Angeles, in partnership with Shell MRE. Once in operation, it will be the first onshore pilot project to demonstrated an onshore wave energy system.

Shell MRE has also partnered with the Danish startup Wavepiston, which has come up with a unique design that vaguely resembles a mechanical sea serpent, so keep an eye out for updates on that firm as well.

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Photo (cropped): US lawmakers propose a new $1 billion funding pot to stimulate launch the domestic marine energy industry into the big leagues of the renewable energy transition (courtesy of Eco Wave Power).