Site off Newport chosen for wave-energy test facility

Posted on April 21, 2011 by kightp

Wave energy test site location

NEWPORT – A one-square-mile site off the coast near Newport has been selected for a new wave energy test program, the first of its kind in the United States and the closest one this side of Scotland.

The siting decision was announced Wednesday by officials from the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, a collaborative research effort of Oregon State University and the University of Washington.

The selection follows two years of discussions with the Oregon coastal community, fishermen, state agencies, wave energy developers and scientists. It is within Oregon territorial waters, near the Hatfield Marine Science Center and close to onshore roads and marine support services.

Public comments on the proposal are still being sought, officials said.

The site will be about one square mile in size, two miles northwest of Yaquina Head on the central Oregon coast, in water about 150-180 feet deep with a sandy seafloor. It is exposed to unobstructed waves that have traveled thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean. The facility is being funded by the state of Oregon and the U.S. Department of Energy.

“If all of our plans and permits are approved, we hope to have the test facility available for wave energy developers to use by this fall,” said Annette von Jouanne, an OSU professor of electrical engineering and leader with the university’s wave energy research programs.

The site will not only allow testing of new wave energy technologies, but will also be used to help study any potential environmental impacts on sediments, invertebrates and fish. In order to simplify and expedite ocean testing, the facility will not initially be connected to the land-based electrical grid.

Testing will be done using a chartered vessel or stand-alone buoy along with the wave energy devices, and most of the technology being tested will produce its energy through the up-and-down motion of the waves. Some devices may be very large, up to 100 feet tall and with a diameter of up to 50 feet, but mostly below the water line.

“The site will not necessarily be off limits to other ocean users,” said Oregon Sea Grant’s Kaety Hildenbrand, who leads Sea Grant’s wave energy public engagement efforts on the central coast. “As part of our continuing outreach to the coastal community, we plan to have a series of dialogues with safety experts and ocean users to discuss allowable uses.”

Wave energy impractical? OSU researcher says “not at all.”

Posted on April 8, 2011 by kightp

Check out this National Science Foundation video of Oregon State University researcher Annette Von Jouanne explaining how the power of the ocean waves could be harnessed to provide clean electricity.

Wave energy is a hot topic on the Oregon coast, where several companies have proposed pilot projects to determine whether the technology is practical, as well as possible. Coastal communities, meanwhile, want some say in where and how wave energy “farms” are located, fearing disruption of fishing, whale migration and other ocean uses. Oregon Sea Grant’s coastal Extension faculty are helping to bridge those divergent views through community meetings and education programs.

Sea Grant provided early grant support for Von Jouanne and her lab as they investigated the engineering solutions for harnessing the power of the waves. Read more here.

More on wave energy from the NSF’s Science Nation.

Oregon’s wave expertise attracts energy startup

Posted on March 10, 2011 by kightp

A Texas company with a novel approach to generating electricity from ocean waves is testing its devices at OSU’s Hinsdale Wave Research Lab, with an eye toward full-scale ocean testing in the future.

Texas-based Neptune Wave Energy was drawn to Oregon by the expertise and scientific resources of the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, a joint effort of OSU and Washington State University.

Oregon Sea Grant, which helped fund early proof-of-concept research on wave-generated energy and is currently looking at the human dimensions of wave energy, is among the local partners in the Center, which is working on establishing an off-shore testing site near Newport that could be used by Neptune and other companies.

Read the whole story from Sustainable Business Oregon.

Learn more about Oregon Sea Grant’s efforts in wave energy.

Video report from KGW TV:

New publications available from Oregon Sea Grant

Posted on February 16, 2011 by newberrc

The following publications are available from http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/sgpubs/newpubs.html

A Primer on Wave Energy Devices

GardenSmart Oregon: a guide to non-invasive plants [2010 rev.]

The Framework of a Coastal Hazards Model–A Tool for Predicting the Impact of Severe Storms

Shark Day at the Visitor Center – now with live Web stream!

Posted on January 7, 2011 by kightp

NEWPORT – Shark Day is returning to the Hatfield Marine Science Visitor Center this Saturday (Jan. 8) – and this year, Internet audiences are invited to join in learning more about these fascinating marine animals via a live-streamed shark dissection and “ask the scientist” chat.

At 1:30 pm (Pacific Time), Bill Hanshumaker, Sea Grant public education specialist, will be dissecting a seven-foot salmon shark (Lamna ditropis), which has been in the deep freeze since it was hauled up as by-catch by a hake trawler last summer and donated to the center. Dr. Hanshumaker will systematically dissect the shark to reveal its nervous, circulatory, digestive and reproductive systems, and talk about shark biology and adaptations.

This year’s Shark Day dissection will be streamed live over the Web via the center’s ScienceCam – and a new feature will allow Internet visitors to join in a live, moderated chat where they can ask questions about shark biology and behavior.

Follow this link to view the dissection live and find out how to take part in the live chat.

Samples of the shark’s tissue and vertebrae will be collected and passed on to researchers who will determine the animal’s age and test test for parasites and mitochondrial concentration.

The specimen is on display at the Center today and through Saturday, until the dissection.

The ScienceCam is one of the Visitor Center’s new initiatives to expand marine education and outreach offerings to those unable to visit the Oregon Coast. In addition to occasional public presentations, it is being used to stream marine science demonstrations to school classrooms, many of them far from the ocean.

(Illustration: Sharks of Oregon poster, available from Oregon Sea Grant)

Sea Grant, State Parks collaborate on iPhone guide to newest park

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Rick Cooper

NEWPORT – A new iPhone application gives visitors an inside look at Oregon’s newest state park, the Beaver Creek State Natural Area south of Newport.

The application, “Paddle Beaver Creek,” was developed jointly by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and Oregon Sea Grant at Oregon State University. It is available free for downloading from the iPhone store.

The project is designed to provide park visitors with an additional way to learn more about the park. “We are adapting to the needs of present and future generations of park visitors,” stated Mike Rivers, Ranger Supervisor for Oregon State Parks. “Having a park-specific smart phone guide to water trails, wildlife and natural history will hopefully deepen our visitors’ experiences in Oregon State Parks’ 2010 park of the year, Beaver Creek State Natural Area.”

The core of the application is an interactive map of the Beaver Creek Water Trail – about three scenic miles of an easy-paddling waterway in a pristine coastal marsh open to kayaks and canoes. With no feasible way to post interpretive signs along a water trail, the application provides iPhone-equipped canoeists and kayakers a way to track their progress via GPS, and interactively highlights points of interest along the way, from nesting ospreys to beaver lodges.

Oregon Sea Grant’s interest in developing new tools for effective science education brought them to this cooperative project. “We are always exploring tools that deepen understanding of the coast,” said Dr. Shawn Rowe, Sea Grant Extension’s free-choice learning specialist at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. “Giving visitors the ability to seek the depth of information they prefer is the future of parks and interpretive centers.”

Beaver Creek State Natural Area is located seven miles south of Newport, just east of Ona Beach State Park. The park, which celebrated its grand opening Oct. 1, offers recreation for boaters and nonboaters alike. A newly created Visitor Center features interpretive exhibits, an ADA-accessible deck overlooking the wetland, and trail access. Free Wi-Fi access allows visitors to download the iPhone App on the spot.

Other Sea Grant personnel involved in conceptualizing and creating the application and coordinating logistics include Mark Farley, Nancee Hunter, Joe Cone and Evelyn Paret. Plans are in the works for additional applications, in versions for a variety of mobile smart-phone platforms.

Oregon Sea Grant, founded in 1968 and based at Oregon State University, supports research, education, and public engagement to help people understand, responsibly use, and conserve ocean and coastal resources.

OSG scholar writes about wave energy, law

Posted on March 3, 2010 by kightp

Former Oregon Sea Grant scholar Holly V. Campbell has an article exploring the legal implications of wave energy development in the winter 2010 issue of the Sea Grant Law & Policy Journal, published by the National Sea Grant Law Center at the University of Mississippi.

Campbell’s article, “A Rising Tide: Wave Energy in the United States and Scotland,” compares and contrasts the two countries’ legal policy and permitting environments for the development of wave energy, an emerging renewable energy technology that uses the power of ocean waves and to generate electricity.

The journal, and Campbell’s article, are available online at http://nsglc.olemiss.edu/SGLPJ/SGLPJ.htm

Campbell, a PhD candidate in environmental science at Oregon State University’s College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, holds law degrees from the University of Oregon and the University of Utah.

In 2007, she was among Oregon Sea Grant’s Legislative Fellows, graduate students assigned to work with coastal lawmakers and learn about marine policy-making. She has also worked with Sea Grant Extension sociologist Flaxen D. Conway on a grant-funded project, “The Human Dimensions of Wave Energy,” where her assignment was to examine the legal and institutional framework surrounding wave energy development. And she has assisted Michael Harte, head of OSU’s Marine Resource Management program and Sea Grant’s climate change specialist, on several projects.

A new way to keep up with events at the coast

Posted on February 5, 2010 by kightp

FaceBook users can now connect with OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Visitor Center through the center’s brand-new Facebook page.

The popular center, located in Newport, draws visitors from all over Oregon – and beyond – to view and interact with its innovative exhibits, take classes and workshops and participate in events ranging from the annual Fossil Fest (coming up Feb. 13) to our new Family Nights marine science programs.

The Visitor Center is just the latest Oregon Sea Grant program to join the social media revolution. Along with several blogs (see our Links section), we have an Oregon Sea Grant Facebook page and we’re on Twitter, too!

It’s all part of our ongoing effort to bring sound, science-based news and information about Oregon’s ocean and coast to people who can use it, wherever they are.

NOAA launches marine planning site

Posted on December 7, 2009 by kightp

A new Web site from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gives visitors tools to learn about marine spatial planning – the ocean equivalent of land-use planning.

The site, at www.msp.noaa.gov, not only lays out basic concepts, but helps visitors stay on top of current news and information about marine spatial planning initiatives in the U.S., at both the federal and state levels.

The site also provides access to the tools and data used by organizations involved in marine spatial planning, including mapping and modeling tools, downloadable software and direct access to relevant government databases.

The site’s “In Practice” section profiles a number of state and regional projects involving marine spatial planning, including current Oregon efforts to plan for offshore wave energy projects.

Breaking Waves

Oregon Sea Grant: Coastal science serving Oregon

Category Archives: technology