A new venture seeks to make waves in the renewable energy sector, aiming to become the pioneer in expanding the use of ocean power.
In the heart of the Port of Los Angeles, a new player in the renewable energy sector has made its debut. Eco Wave Power, a company founded in 2011, has installed a 100-kilowatt wave power system, marking the first-ever U.S. installation of its kind.
Before setting foot in American waters, Eco Wave Power tested its equipment at a small scale in Gibraltar and installed it in Jaffa, Israel. The company's ultimate goal was to demonstrate its technology to stakeholders and potential customers, and it found the perfect opportunity in the Port of LA.
The system, located in an easily accessible area in the harbor where the waves are not particularly powerful, consists of seven steel 'floaters' affixed to a concrete wharf. These floaters bob with the waves, building up hydraulic pressure that is converted to electric power.
Eco Wave Power's ambition is to generate significant power amounts from this installation, more than what solar and wind could produce for the same footprint. The company plans to install more floaters along the 8-mile breakwater in the Port of LA, which could potentially generate 60 megawatts.
However, the permits for this ambitious project are still in advanced stages of approval but have not yet been fully granted. Securing these permits from the Army Corps of Engineers, the Port, and other local and state authorities took about two years. Once approved, the installation could take just four months, as demonstrated by the swift commissioning of the current 100-kilowatt system.
The wave power system, if successful, could usher in a new form of renewable power that operates more like baseload power than intermittent solar and wind. Terry Tamminen, CEO of AltaSea, which oversees the property hosting the installation, believes that tapping other sources of renewable power, like Eco Wave Power's wave power system, is necessary to close California's mission to run the whole grid on clean power by 2045.
The warehouse where the system is installed is a piece of history itself. Originally constructed in the 1910s, it once held cargo brought in from the newly built Panama Canal. Today, it stands renovated, hosting kelp cultivators and underwater construction innovators, including Eco Wave Power.
In 2022, Eco Wave Power partnered with AltaSea to incubate ocean-centric technologies in this dockside warehouse. The company is also self-funding a 1-megawatt installation on the coast of Porto in northern Portugal, scheduled to be completed by September 2026.
As Eco Wave Power continues to demonstrate its technology in the Port of LA, it is poised to make a significant contribution to the global shift towards renewable power.
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