Ecology ruled that the plan to install four buoys three miles offshore to capture the energy generated by the ocean’s waves won’t violate federal Clean Water Act regulations or the state’s Coastal Zone Management Program. The five-year demonstration project is located in Makah Bay.
Those of you tracking new energy news might be feeling a bit deja vu-ish, wondering ‘Didn’t this thing already get greenlighted?’
It did indeed. In December, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced that it had granted the nation’s first-ever license for a hydrokinetic wave energy project.
Turns out they got a little ahead of themselves with that move, according to a slightly torqued Ecology.
Ecology officials note that Clean Water and Coastal Zone Management acts require FERC to incorporate the state’s approval and conditions into any licensing decision. FERC is taking requests for a rehearing, according to an Ecology press release.
On the enviro front, fishermen are among those to raise concerns about how ocean-based power plants might affect marine life or the near-shore environment, though I’m not aware of any outcry regarding this particular project. The Finavera pilot has the blessing of the nearby Makah Tribal Council.
The test project is a one-megawatt pilot, but the potential for power is huge. The Electric Power Research Institute estimated that waves off the Washington, Oregon and California coasts could produce from 250 to 500 terawatt-hours per year — that’s up to one-eighth of the nation’s energy demand.
The Finavera needs additional state and federal permits before proceeding.