Wave of the future? Ocean power could be ready to surge
When I was a kid, I loved to dive through the waves in Rhode Island with my summer friends (including “little Sammy” Waterston, if that name rings a bell). I remember one day my father, alarmed at the size of the waves, called me back to shore and as I turned to go I got pounded. I thought I was going to drown. From then on, I’ve had a healthy respect for the power of waves.

So harnessing waves and tides for their energy seems like a no-brainer, and for a growing number of countries and companies it is. Waves are more reliable than wind or sun, and tides are as steady as, well, clockwork. In many ways they are ideal for producing electricity, the next generation of hydropower.

Testing the waters
ScottishPower is building a “wave farm” off Orkney that will generate 3 megawatts of electricity and power about 3,000 homes. Ocean Power Delivery, which makes the sausage-shaped generators for the project, says the seas could eventually supply three times the energy the U.K. uses today. OPD envisions the typical wave farm providing enough energy for 20,000 homes. The Orkney project, which begins operation next year, is one of 9 wave and tidal projects now planned for the U.K., which, surrounded by water, is ideally situated.

Scotland's OPD also has a commercial-scale wave farm off Portugal, where it laid 3 big tube-and-hinge devices that generate about 2.5 megawatts, with plans to put down another 30, increasing the output to 30MW.

In Australia, a wave-generated power station will soon supply 500 homes south of Sydney with clean electricity and drinking water. In this project, electricity results from waves washing into a funnel and driving air through a pipe into a turbine. The plant also desalinates enough drinking water for as many homes as it powers, an important benefit for drought-stricken Australia. This plant is a prototype for another 10 to be built along the country’s southern coast.

Here at home
Clean Power Technologies, Inc., a New Jersey company, is partnering with the Navy to test a floating buoy off Hawaii, which moves up and down with the waves, generating electricity. That company just went public on the NASDAQ (OPTT), offering 50 million shares at $20, and it plans to pour $90 million back into wave demonstration projects, technology, development and marketing. It has exclusive rights to test its product, PowerBuoy, off Reedsport, Ore., and will develop other sites off New Jersey, Spain and France.

Also off Oregon, which has fearsome waves, Canadian company Finavera Renewables Inc. has exclusive rights to test a 100MW project near Coos Bay starting this summer. It uses interconnected floating devices called AquaBuOYs, which then send the power to shore through a cable on the ocean floor.

And Pacific Gas & Electric has filed preliminary applications for two wave-energy projects off Northern California. The WaveConnect projects would provide a total of 80MW of electricity, PG&E says.

The U.S. Energy Regulatory Commission has received more than 50 applications for wave-energy projects in the past two years and is now issuing preliminary permits to keep developers from grabbing multiple sites to keep them away from competitors.

Riding the tide
A small tidal project is already operating in the East River in New York City, the only one in the U.S. connected to the electric grid. Verdant Power started with 2 turbines anchored to the riverbed, with another 4 to follow. The turbines turn in the direction of the tidal flow, forcing rotors to spin, as water surges from the Long Island Sound to Atlantic Ocean and back. Verdant hopes to get a license next year to install 300 turbines.

And in Washington state, Snohomish County Public Utility District has permits to investigate 8 tidal sites in Puget Sound, a joint project with Tacoma Power. They believe Puget could handle 1,000 turbines and power 60,000 homes.

No incentives
Probably the biggest drawback in the U.S. is the lack of federal incentives, like there are for wind and solar. But that may soon change. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) has introduced a bill asking for a 30% tax credit for the equipment and a production tax credit for making the electricity. It also asks $50 million a year for research and development. Oregon’s two senators also are pushing legislation for tax credits to put waves on a par with wind and solar.

One concern is the impact on the marine environment. As Puget Sound is eyed for tidal projects, the Orca Network is worried the noise will disrupt the whales. Others fear turbines in the water will damage salmon and marine mammals by stirring up toxic sediment on the bottom.

As these demonstration projects go forward, and a search for the best technologies is under way, environmental impact will be carefully scrutinized as well.

But wave and tidal power hold out a lot of hope as one of the clean, renewable energy sources of the future.

(Souces: Greenwire, PlanetArk.com, Scotsman.com and E&E News PM, with a special thank-you for most of the information to astute Greenwire reporter Michael Burnham, whom I had the pleasure of teaching at Northwestern a few years back.)

News briefs

1. India says it can cut GHG 25% by 2020, but don’t push
India’s government predicted last week its policies will allow it to cut greenhouse gas emissions more than 25% by 2020, but that outside pressure for mandatory targets could hurt its economy and efforts to lift its people out of poverty. The Indian environment secretary said policies on efficiency and renewable sources will help the country meet its goal. Few details were provided, but India is 4th in the world in both wind energy and solar use. Industrial countries and scientists point to China and India as likely to produce much of the increase in GHG in the next few decades because of their booming economies, and say they must be a part of any post-Kyoto agreement. India now produces 3% of the world’s GHG, with emissions growing 2-3% annually. The country is likely to be among those most adversely affected by Global Warming. (Sources: PlanetArk.com, The Telegraph UK, inwea.com, ecoworld.com)

2. Bush thwarts G8 with his own plan for climate talks
President Bush threw a monkey wrench into European leaders’ plan to get G8 agreement next week on mandatory GHG cuts of 50% by 2050, by announcing his own more lenient plan. The president said Thursday he will lead talks with the 15 most-polluting countries to craft a long-range “aspirational goal” for 2050. For the next decade or two, he said, each country should decide what it will do to help meet that goal. Nothing mandatory here. Environmentalists were upset. “It’s too late to slide by on vague calls for unenforceable long-term goals,” said Avid Doniger of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Some European officials politely said they were pleased Bush was finally joining the conversation. Meanwhile, NASA chief and Bush appointee Michael Griffin caused a stir by implying there’s no need to act to stop Global Warming. NASA’s high-profile top climate scientist, James Hansen, was shocked. He said he almost fell off his chair when he heard. “We’re at a tipping point,” he said. “If we don’t start to make some changes … we’re going to get some really large climate changes.” (Sources: E&E News PM, Greenwire, New York Times)

3. ‘Enhanced geothermal’ could equal nuclear power in energy
The U.S. could generate as much power by 2050 from heat deep underground as it does from now nuclear energy – about 10%. A study commissioned by the Energy Department said that by drilling holes in rock and shooting water 2-3 miles down to be warmed by the 400 degree temperatures, then up again, we could produce steam to power electricity. Europe, Australia and Japan are using this method successfully. Estimated cost would be $1 billion over 15 years. (Source: New York Times)

4. Wind lobby says it could provide 15% of Europe’s energy by 2020
Wind will play a major role in powering Europe, growing to 12-15% of energy sources by 2020, says the Wind Energy Association, which of course has an interest in saying so. Europe is the world’s largest wind market, and has averaged 23% growth a year during the past 6 years. Half the turbines could be offshore by 2030, said EWEA President Arthouros Zervos. But he warned wind’s success will require a more competitive market, with better connections between countries and an offshore power grid. (Source: PlanetArk.com)

Congressional round-up

*In rare bi-partisan action by presidential candidates, Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) attached to the 2008 defense authorization bill a provision requiring the military to check its readiness for Global Warming. An almost identical provision is in the House-approved version of the defense authorization. This implements the recommendation of 11 retired Pentagon officials. Bush has threatened a veto.

*Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) has union support for a draft of a bill he will introduce this month, to set mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions, probably at 15% by 2030. The electrical workers and mine workers this week joined the boilermakers in supporting the draft. The AFL-CIO is seen as likely to sign on too. The latest supporters urge trade penalties on China and India if they don’t take similar action. They also ask that federal law pre-empt the states, some of which have much stronger restrictions. That’s not likely to fly in California and the Northeast. Bingaman is chair of the Senate Energy Committee.

*Congress could pass an RPS mandate this year. After several years of success in the House, but not in the Senate, supporters are hopeful a renewable portfolio standard will mandate increasing amounts of power from renewable sources. The idea got a boost from GE, BP, Google, the National Venture Capital Assn. and others who sent Congress a letter saying RPS would increase energy independence, limit volatile prices, reduce GHG and create jobs. Sen. Bingaman plans to offer an RPS amendment calling for 15% in renewables by 2020. In the House, Reps. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Todd Platts (R-Pa.) have a bill mandating 20% by 2020. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) calls RPS “the single most important thing that would drive green, renewable energy.”

*Improved efficiency by utilities is the goal of a bill from Markey. It requires gas and electric companies to increase efficiency up to 10% for electricity and 5% for natural gas by 2020. To accomplish this, utilities would combine heat and power, recycle energy and help consumers conserve. 7 states have such a law and 7 more are working on it.
(Sources for Round-up: E&E Daily, Greenwire, E&E News PM)

Do something

Energy conservation is the quickest, cheapest way to cut greenhouse gases. And there is much an individual can do. If you haven’t bought condensed fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs yet, it’s time. You can get them at just about any hardware store. They cut electricity use for lights by two-thirds to three-quarters. An energy audit of your home by your power company can help point the way for better insulation and more efficient use of appliances. Meanwhile, unplug. Unplug those chargers for your cell phone, laptop, even your electric toothbrush, once it is charged. They continue to use energy even when the appliance is fully charged. Unplug your toaster, coffee pot, etc. when they’re not in use. Maybe you use these things one hour a day. For the other 23 you’re just wasting energy. It means developing new habits, and that’s not easy. But it all ads up, both in energy use and in cost. And don’t forget to turn off the lights when you leave a room.