Oceans of energy – Mercer Island partners hope to pilot wave energy project with Makah tribe

By Mary L. Grady

By Mary L. Grady

Of all energy sources harnessed by man to produce energy, it is water that has been the cheapest, the most readily available and requiring the simplest technology.

But with new sources limited and energy demand still growing, scientists and entrepreneurs alike continue to search for an energy source that will be environmentally friendly and commercially viable.

Now it seems that water may be poised to again take the lead in an energy future where fossil fuel prices and supplies become less certain. It may finally be time for ocean-generated wave energy.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

AquaEnergy of Mercer Island, a trio of three engineer-designers, believe they hold the key to a renewable resource with worldwide potential. In their proposal, ocean waves create energy by the compression of water forced up a hose into a buoy anchored offshore. The concept is called “wave energy conversion technology.”

But the likelihood that it will ever be developed is less a matter of viability than of money and politics.

Successful development of alternative energy sources is wrapped up in permits and environmental issues. As developers of other alternative energy sources such as wind or geo-thermal energy know, it can take years.

“Wave energy is where wind energy was 15 years ago, said Alla Weinstein, CEO of AquaEnergy.

But while wind can often be unpredictable, the waves of the ocean are timeless, varying only in their intensity.

AquaEnergy is a classic garage-style startup, where the partners left their jobs to work on an idea full time from their homes, Weinstein said of the fledgling company.

Russian-born Weinstein worked for Honeywell, Inc. since 1977, as an engineer. She worked the last several years at the firm on Mercer Island as general manager. She has a son who graduated from Mercer Island High School. Hired by Honeywell when she got out of college in 1977, Weinstein was the only woman there who was an engineer, she said. One of her first assignments was developing test equipment for F-15 and F-16 fighter planes.

In the near future, Weinstein and her financial partners, Jason Bak and Jonathon Neilan, need to demonstrate the viability of the concept with a pilot project. They must also raise money to build the project. The plan is to build it just off the tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Makah Bay. The firm has received $500,000 in capital from a European corporation to put together the mountain of documents needed to apply for a myriad of permits before they can test their idea.

The group hopes to someday construct a 30 megawatt project that would require a 140 or more offshore buoys, a connecting cable on the ocean floor and a turbine on land.

The total cost would range between $1,500 to $2,000 per kilowatt hour for installed capacity or about 10 cents per kilowatt hour, comparable to the cost of wind energy now, Weinstein said.

Still, she acknowledges, for United States investors, it is a significant amount of money on an unfamiliar technology.

Alternative energy is often not an issue about workability but feasibility. It is more about money than about science — and about investors, shareholders and politicians. The AquaEnergy partners need others to join their effort to make it work. They need $4 million for a one megawatt (MW) pilot project.

Researchers have identified four places in the ocean off the coast of the U.S. that meet the required attributes for wave energy conversion: Maine, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington state.

And at the very time the company looked for investors, the Makah Indian Nation was actively looking for a project that will provide economic opportunities for its tribe but would work within their efforts to protect and preserve their land. The one MW project could supply the energy needs for a couple hundred homes, Weinstein said.

The amount of power is perfect for the Makah and is entirely workable for Clallam County Public Utility District.

Other support has come from the Bonneville Power Administration, the Pacific Northwest Regional Laboratory and Washington State University. Clallam County PUD, the utility that supplies energy to the northern Olympic Peninsula has also embraced the test pilot project.

There is much work to do.

The technology itself is quite simple, said Weinstein. It is getting the money and the permits that will be the hard part.

The buoys survived testing in the north sea of Europe. Perhaps AquaEnergy and their project will survive the storms they will have to endure to see their project become a reality.