Testing Wave Energy for the Future
There is a critical need for diverse energy sources to address issues from community needs for local power to global climate change. Industry leaders are working to develop devices that can harvest energy from waves and PacWave, based at Oregon State University, is helping them test those ideas.
PacWave is an open ocean wave energy test facility for US-based and international developers of wave energy converters or WECs. It consists of two sites, PacWave North and PacWave South. Both are located within a few miles from the deep-water Port of Newport, Oregon on the ever-energetic Pacific Ocean.
After more than a decade of design, engineering and permitting, PacWave South is now under construction. The state-of-the-art site is being developed for the testing of utility-scale and small-scale WECs and will be grid-connected. So, electricity from the test site will power local homes and businesses. When it becomes operational in 2024, PacWave South will be the only facility of its kind in the US. Primary funding for PacWave South comes from the US Department of Energy, the State of Oregon, and Oregon State University.