OCEAN ENERGY PRO & CON

Chris Martinson, Oregon ocean fisherman says, “I don’t want it in my fishing grounds…I don’t want to be worried about driving around someone else’s million-dollar buoy.”

Philip D. Moeller, a member of the Federal Energy Commission (FERC) and a wave energy supporter says “We haven’t defined sensitive area, but the point is we’ll be cognizant of that…Let’s get this stuff in the water and find out what it has to offer…Consumers want green power, and this is an option.”

Efforts to Harvest Ocean’s Energy Open New Debate Front
William Yardley (with Erik Olsen), December 8, 2007 (NY Times)

WHO
Chris Martinson, crab/shrimp ocean fisherman; Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

This is what a wave energy installation might look like. (click to enlarge)

WHAT
Wave energy installations are being tested in waters with great potential for generating enormous amounts of emissions-free renewable energy but also with the potential to wreck havoc with the ocean environment, sealife, fisheries and ocean transport.

WHEN
The first federal test permit was issued by FERC in February 2007. Tests are presently ongoing.

WHERE
- Tests are being done on ocean energy devices off reedsport, Coos bay and Yaquina Head lighthouse on the central Oregon coast.
- Oregon, Washington and Northern California have 4 times the energy potential of East Coast states.
- Wave farms (aka wave parks) will be 2 to 3 miles offshore.

US MMS and FERC have been cautious about marine energy development. They're still writing the book. (click to enlarge)

WHY
- Major technical and financial obstacles remain. Many have compared ocean energy to wind energy in the 1980s. But they also say ocean energy has the potential to generate as much as 5-10% of US electricity.
- Oregon State University and the state of Oregon, Canadian-based Finavera Renewables and Ocean Power Technologies have test projects in the works or planned. Each has a unique technology.
- Ocean Power Technologies’ project is touted as a 50 megawatt installation.
- Environmentalists and fishermen worry that too little is known about the effects, especially on sealife.
- Advocates argue distant offshore positioning and a low profile make ocean energy installations aesthetically appealing.
- FERC is planning to grant 5-year licenses obtained by a 6-month process. The idea is to allow a stop in the process if there is financial failure or environmental harm.

And they’re still developing the timeline.

QUOTES
- Fran Recht, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission: “Everyone wants that silver bullet…The question is, Is this as benign as everyone wants to say it is? I’m not prepared to take new risks unless we’re conserving and respecting the energy we already have.”
- Nancy Fitzpatrick, administrator, Oregon Salmon Commission: “Is it going to impact us? Going way back to the dams, we find out later that of course, yes, it affected salmon and migration. So we don’t want to be stuck in a situation like that with wave energy.”