Stormy seas: ocean power promoters struggle to overcome a stiff current of challenges

Earth Island Journal, Spring, 2009 by Larissa Curlik

At the eastern edge of the continent, on a blustery December afternoon, water slaps against the side of Energy Tide I; a small barge moored in the cold waters of Maine's Passamaquoddy Bay. Churning swells dwarf the 20- by 48-foot barge, an unassuming structure that resembles a floating cabin with a Porta Potti lashed to its right side and a short platform at the stern. The vessel houses a turbine generator unit designed and built by Ocean Renewable Power Corporation (ORPC), a Florida-based firm, to harness energy from the tides. The company launched Energy Tide I in the autumn of 2007 as a testing facility for turbines that convert kinetic energy from offshore currents into electricity that can be used on land. The plan for the day is to bring in the barge to check on the turbine, but the winds and tide aren't cooperating.

"We're in that time of year where we have to be sensitive to the weather," says Bob Lewis, who manages operations on the barge. The first big snowstorm of the season hit the region the night before, and patches of ice, gusty winds, and single-digit temperatures linger. Lewis had previously made plans to meet with the assistant harbormaster, Matt Lacasse, at 12:45 p.m. Already 10 minutes past the appointed time, Lacasse is nowhere in sight, and the barge remains moored 400 feet from shore.

ORPC hired Lewis a native of the town of Eastport, one of the last US communities before the shoreline turns into Canada--two years ago to help coordinate its efforts to build the first commercial tidal facility in the US. It's a job that gives Lewis a pioneer role in developing an industry that some people hope could one day provide a significant amount of the US's energy needs.

"This is the beginning of a new industry," Lewis exclaims. "ORPC has the benefit of helping lay the foundation for tidal energy development, and we hope that our philosophy will help make a better foundation for the industry."

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ORPC's goal is to create emission-free electricity from ocean currents by developing its own original technology. Part of that mission involves talking up the environmental and economic potential of ocean power, which currently is overshadowed by the nation's interest in developing wind and solar energy. "I also believe that our technology will open up opportunities more than just generating electricity," Lewis says as part of his sales pitch. Among those opportunities he lists are new job growth, increased tourism to the remote area, and the creation of complementary industries such as the manufacturing of turbine blades.

Making progress hasn't been easy, though. ORPC faces complex regulatory, ecological, and economic hurdles in developing its technology. Private funding has been difficult to secure. The electricity-generating systems are still being tweaked. And the industry has not yet fully addressed concerns about the possible impacts on ocean ecosystems.

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Then there's the uncontrollable force of the weather. When harbormaster Lacasse finally arrives, he gives word that the waters are too choppy to bring Energy Tide I ashore, which means Lewis may have to keep waiting before he can test ORPC's latest design.

"Working in this environment is a challenge," Lewis says with a grin as he puts the truck into gear and heads back to his office.

A Tsunami or a Swell?

ORPC is just one of dozens of companies around the world trying to tap the ocean's power to generate renewable energy. Last November, Pelamis Wave Power became the first to commercially generate ocean power off the coast of Portugal by installing three steel "sea snakes" on the ocean floor. The snakes convert energy from the motion of the waves into electricity that is then transmitted to shore through underwater cables.

If developments in the research and construction of ocean power follow current trends, the industry could experience a huge boom in coming years, according to "Forecasting the Future of Ocean Power," a report published by the Prometheus Institute last year. From 2001 through 2006, less than $50 million was invested in ocean power annually. But in 2007, investments jumped to $250 million. That growth is forecasted to continue, given plans for commercial power projects underway in South Korea, Spain, Ireland, and Australia. By 2015, the Prometheus Institute predicts global installed capacity will exceed 1 GW, and that more than $2 billion will be invested in the industry.

If the Prometheus Institute is right, ocean power will still remain a small industry when compared to wind power, which has at least a generation's head start. In 2007, nearly $9 billion was invested in wind energy in the US alone. But ocean power, its proponents say, boasts certain unique advantages that promise to make it an important niche player within the broader renewable energy sector.

Among its advantages, ocean power is predictable. Waves, caused by the force of wind on the water, can be anticipated five days beforehand. Tidal currents, propelled by lunar cycles, are known more than 100 years in advance. This reliability makes ocean power a kind of renewable baseload generator, unlike solar and wind, which are notoriously erratic. The ocean also has a high "power density"--832 times greater than air which means that relatively lane amounts of electricity can be generated from relatively small devices. For example, an underwater turbine can generate the same amount of energy as a wind turbine three times its size.