In These New Times

“OSU’s Boehlert also wonders whether underwater noise or electromagnetic fields will alter the ability of fish to navigate and find food.”

Some Coastal Towns Need Persuading To Embrace Wave Energy
BY TOM BANSE
Coos Bay, OR October 7, 2008 5:22 a.m. OPB News

NEWPORT, Ore. – R&D engineers rig a wave energy buoy during sea trials earlier this September.
Harnessing the power of ocean waves to make electricity is all the rage among Northwest politicians and conservationists. Oregon State University and the University of Washington just got a big grant to work on wave and tidal energy.

Even the Presidential candidates are all for it as part of the quest for “energy independence”. But the possible effects on fishing, crabbing and whales make some coastal residents uneasy.

Correspondent Tom Banse reports backers of wave energy have some persuading to do.

The rush is on to tap the ocean’s waves to make electricity. Wave energy farms are in the works from Vancouver Island down through Mendocino County, California, including two off the Washington Coast and seven off the Oregon Coast.

In Coos Bay, people gathered recently for an open house on wave energy. The questions lobbed at a panel of industry supporters betrayed a good deal of skepticism.

Moderator: “Are current commercial and recreational fisheries going to be displaced…?”

The audience of close to a hundred included crabbers and commercial fishermen like Jeff Reeves. He says one proposal for 200 wave energy buoys connected by underwater cables lies directly over his favorite place to drop crab pots and troll for salmon.

Jeff Reeves: “We don’t have anymore to give. We’re a beat down industry. We’ve been choked out by regulations. This is just adding another nail to the coffin.”

But wave energy is popular enough that the Oregon Legislature created the Oregon Wave Energy Trust to promote “responsible” development of a clean new industry. Its director, Stephanie Thornton, says wave energy doesn’t have to turn into an either-or proposition.

Stephanie Thornton: “What we’re really hoping is that it is going to be complementary. There are a lot of issues to work out. I’m not trying to minimize that. But here is an opportunity if we’re losing at one end to bring something new in.”

The fishing community has been the most vocal in asking tough questions. But scientists are also raising sticky issues.

George Boehlert directs the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon. He says marine mammals are a top concern.

George Boehlert: “Just simply, if a whale is moving along at 5-6 mph and they run into a cable, it’s not going to be a nice situation.”

Other daunting concerns include whether an array of wave energy absorbers change coastal currents and erosion. Will sea birds crash into the buoys at night?

OSU’s Boehlert also wonders whether underwater noise or electromagnetic fields will alter the ability of fish to navigate and find food.

George Boehlert: “I think it’s really premature to say whether there are any showstoppers. Obviously, I would hope that there are not because I think we need to find renewable energy sources. But we really have to take an objective look at this and try to understand.”

Wave energy developer Herb Nock believes progress is being made in winning over the coast. His company, New Jersey-based Ocean Power Technologies, is behind projects near Coos Bay and Reedsport.

Herb Nock: “Like anything, people have to become familiar with the idea because, well, nobody has ever put wave power off the coast of Oregon. We find that as people understand what we’re doing, they understand that it’s offshore, you don’t see it. It really doesn’t take up that much space. It’s environmentally benign as we see it, and the benefit in terms of economic development for the coast, all these things align to make a very attractive option for the state to consider.”

Fourth-generation crabber Devin Hockema sits at a buffet nearby, his hair tousled and hands chapped. He’s not feeling very open to persuasion.

Devin Hockema: “I’ve learned that everything we give, we never get back anything in return. I’m reluctant to give at this point. We just lost our salmon season. Every year there’s just more and more limitations.”

Temporary deployments of wave energy buoys have already happened off Newport, Oregon.

Projects off Reedsport and Makah Bay, Washington are on track to be the first commercial wave energy parks on the West Coast. Both are probably a couple years away.