Engineering for the First Full-Scale Wave Energy Test Facility in the U.S. Completed
The underground infrastructure engineering for an ocean wave testing facility was completed. The project, located in Seal Rock, Oregon, will be the first full-scale test facility in the United States for wave energy devices.This is to support the evaluation and testing of new energy generation technologies to turn offshore ocean waves to onshore renewable electricity.
According to PR Newswire, PacWave South allows up to 20 wave energy converters (WECs) of various designs to be tested in real-world, open-sea conditions seven miles off Oregon’s coast. The project includes four offshore steel conduits up to 120 feet below the seafloor and extending a mile offshore, connecting to a bundle of five onshore high-density polyethylene (HDPE) conduits, all installed using horizontal directional drilling (HDD) methods and ultimately connecting to PacWave’s Utility Connection and Monitoring Facility. The HDD method was chosen to avoid disturbing sensitive wetlands and beach areas and because it allowed the work to be conducted year-round.