HOW TO DO WAVE ENERGY RIGHT

An enormously valuable contribution to the development of hydrokinetic energy, the Proceedings and Presentations from Ecological Effects of Wave Energy Development in the Pacific Northwest; A Scientific workshop, has just been released by the Hatfield Marine Science Center of Oregon State University.

All the proceedings' presentations.

George Boehlert, Editor/report and Director/Hatfield Center: “Right now, wave energy technology is ahead of the related ecological research…The sooner we can address the questions the better, because the potential benefits from a clean, renewable energy source like ocean waves are enormous.”

This illustration outlines what Dr. Boehlert means by "enormous:"

click to enlarge

Study: wave energy could have impact on ocean, species
September 29, 2008 (Portland Business Journal)

WHO
Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University (George Boehlert, Director)

WHAT
The Proceedings and Presentations from Ecological Effects of Wave Energy Development in the Pacific Northwest; A Scientific workshop suggest wave energy development could have significant impacts to both the ocean and various species but they are inadequately known and require more research.

click to enlarge

WHEN
- The workshop was October 11-12, 2007.
- There has been a “gold rush” to develop wave energy in the region studied in the last 2 years.

WHERE
The conference focused on impacts of wave energy development off the Oregon coast.

WHY
The focus of the workshop included topic areas such as:
a. Physical effects (Currents and waves, Littoral transport )
b. Effects on Fish (Electromagnetic field effects like sensory systems & orientation, Changes in migration)
c. Habitat effects (Fouling community effects and interactions, Aggregation effects in pelagic environment (FADs), Planktonic community)
d. Effects of Benthic disturbance (Benthic-pelagic coupling)
e. Marine Mammals and Seabirds (Electromagnetic field effects like sensory systems & orientation, Changes in migration; use of acoustic harassment devices (AHD), Entanglement)
- Among the report’s conclusions:
a. wave energy buoys should not be in sensitive areas (ex: no closer to shore than a 40 meter depth)
b. a buoy installation could reduce the energy hitting the shore, affecting the movement of sand up and down the coast
buoys could attract forage fish species, which then attract larger fish, altering habitat patterns
c. lighting and above-water structures could attract seabirds, causing collisions
d. mooring cables could lead to marine mammal entanglement
e. actual impact will be dependent on project size

click for the Hatfield Center website.

QUOTES
- Tuba Ozkan-Haller, Consultant/report and associate professor, OSU College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences: “…depending on [the number of buoys], spacing between the buoys and their distance from shore, the buoys could lead to [a general reduction of waves along the coast,] a channeling effect that potentially could create rip currents on nearby beaches. As soon as we see the projected size and deployment of a wave energy facility, we can begin to create models that will tell us more about the physical impacts and could then potentially design deployment configurations that minimize such impacts.”