Oregon's wave energy capacity detailed in new report
24 Jan 2012
by: Daily Journal of Commerce
Waves and tidal currents off the Oregon coast contain enough energy to generate more than 60 terawatt hours of electricity per year if developed to maximum potential, according to reports released by the U.S. Department of Energy. The U.S. uses approximately 4,000 terawatt hours of electricity per year.
The DOE today released its assessments of wave energy resources and tidal streams across the U.S., touting the reports as the most rigorous analyses of the country's ocean energy in existence.
Oregon is working through a complicated process to amend its Territorial Sea Plan in order to accommodate more renewable energy development. The spatial planning process, which started back in 2008, will locate areas where renewable energy development may be sited within Oregon's territorial waters.
A working group since 2008 has collected data and consulted with communities about ocean energy development to make recommendations for how the Territorial Sea Plan should account for siting. The Territorial Sea Plan Working Group will hold its next meeting Jan. 20 in Newport.
Nationwide, 6 percent of the country's electricity is already generated by hydropower resources. The DOE estimates that hydropower could produce approximately one third of the country's electricity needs if it was developed to the maximum theoretical level. By 2030, water power may contain enough energy to provide 15 percent of the nation's electricity.
In addition to the wave and tidal resource assessments, DOE plans to release additional resource assessments for ocean current, ocean thermal gradients and new hydropower resources in 2012.
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