Oregon State University’s PacWave South, which the university said is the first pre-permitted, utility-scale, grid-connected wave energy test site in the United States, will begin installing power and data cables this month.
When the facility is completed, wave energy developers will be able to test different technologies for harnessing the power of ocean waves and transmitting that energy to the local electrical grid.
“Transmitting power from wave-energy generators to shore in a form compatible with the regional power grid is a huge challenge, and cabled connection from PacWave South provides the capability to test power-delivery technologies,” said Burke Hales, PacWave’s chief scientist and a professor in the OSU College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. “These cables are highly specialized and their installation and burial is a keystone of wave energy development in the U.S.”
Wave energy has the potential to provide clean, reliable electricity to help meet the world’s rising energy demands. Oregon State has pursued development of a wave energy test facility for more than a decade to accelerate this industry. While there are several test sites in Europe, the university said there is currently no U.S. facility for developers to measure the electrical and environmental performance of their devices at this scale.
The university said Louisiana-based subsea cable services contractor R.T. Casey is overseeing the installation of the four power and data cables ranging in length from about 10 to 13 continuous miles. The work will be carried out by crews aboard three vessels and will likely be visible to beachgoers and visitors for the duration of the installation process, which is expected to take six to seven weeks, depending on ocean conditions, said Dan Hellin, deputy director of PacWave.
The cables will be anchored in an underground vault and will run through conduits from the shore under the beach, then come up out of the seafloor about 1 mile out. From there to the test site, the cable will be buried about three feet under the seafloor.
On land, another group will be installing cables that run from the vault to a shoreside utility connection and monitoring facility. The first wave energy developer is expected at PacWave South in 2025 and the first cable-connected test is expected in 2026 under current timelines.
The ocean test site will have four test berths, which combined can accommodate up to 20 wave energy devices at any one time.
