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For immediate release E2I and EPRI Assess Potential Wave Energy
Sites and Conversion Devices Palo Alto, Calif. - June 11, 2004 - The Electricity Innovation Institute (E2I) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have identified several viable candidate sites in Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and Maine for possible demonstration plants to convert offshore wave energy from the ocean into electricity. E2I and EPRI are collaborating with energy agencies and utilities from these four states and the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to produce a conceptual system design for a pilot demonstration power plant and future commercial-size facility at one site in each state. This will include estimates of the construction costs and power generating potential for each plant using technology-ready devices. The study will help determine whether wave energy is economically practicable off the shores of the United States in the 2010 time period and therefore, make a case either for or against additional demonstration funding to develop this wave energy conversion technology. "Offshore wave energy is an exciting, renewable, non-polluting electricity resource that is too important to overlook," said E2I President and CEO T.J. Glauthier. "E2I and EPRI's exploration of wave power demonstration projects will help validate current technology that could possibly serve as an alternative to fossil fuels and create thousands of new jobs here in the United States." The candidate sites meet the necessary required attributes including those of wave behavior, ocean depth, coastal utility grid interconnection, regional manufacturing infrastructure, and existing local harbor facilities for deployment, retrieval and servicing of the elongated floating structures. The report also identifies wave energy conversion prototypes that are technology-ready for testing and capable of withstanding rough water conditions, which has hindered deployment and survivability in the past. This rough ocean water represents a concentrated form of wind energy. The conversion devices capture the kinetic energy produced by the bobbing and/or pitching motion of the ocean via floating platforms. The amount is significant: the average wave energy off the Northwest Coast of the United States is approximately 25 kW/meter of wave crest. Therefore, assuming 50 percent efficiency, a 50-meter-wide device (about the size of half a football field) can capture and convert 625 kW of wave energy, enough to power about 625 homes. The site and device assessment reports for the four states are available at www.e2i.org. The final assessment of a specific site per state will be available at the end of September. The Electricity Innovation Institute's mission is to stimulate innovation in strategic electricity technologies through public/private partnerships. The non-profit public benefit organization is an EPRI affiliate based in Palo Alto, Calif. E2I's focus is to develop strategic technology innovations with the potential to transform the value of electricity to customers and society and provide great public benefits. Visit E2I at www.e2i.org. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), headquartered
in Palo Alto, Calif., was established in 1973 as a non-profit center
for public interest energy and environmental research. EPRI's collaborative
science and technology development program now spans nearly every
area of power generation, delivery and use. More than 1,000 energy
organizations and public institutions in 40 countries draw on EPRI's
global network of technical and business expertise. Visit EPRI at
www.epri.com. - # # # -
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