US Energy Department’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) and Oregon State University have concluded detailed negotiations for the development and operation of the national wave energy test site.
The Pacific Marine Energy Center South Energy Test Site (PMEC-SETS) will accommodate up to 20 wave energy converters in four test berths at one time, and each of the berths will have a dedicated transmission cable, WPTO said.
The test berths will be able to supply up to 20MW of electricity to the grid, according to plans from the Oregon State University.
The site, to be constructed off the coast of Newport in Oregon, is expected to begin with initial operations in the summer of 2020, WPTO informed.
To remind, the US Energy Department backed the construction of the pre-permitted and grid-connected PMEC-SETS with $40 million in December 2016.
Oregon State University’s Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center has been tasked to develop PMEC-SETS to help wave energy device developers bridge a major gap to commercialization, which is according to WPTO, the access to economical testing.