Back in 2022, Eco Wave Energy announced plans to relocate its wave energy array from Gibraltar to the Port of Los Angeles. Now the company has secured final approval for what will become the first onshore wave energy project in the US.
The idea behind the setup is to mount a number of floaters on coastal infrastructure, which rise and fall to the motion of waves. This drives hydraulic pistons to move fluid to an accumulator, which is then released to produce electricity via a generator.
The concept was proven in tanks back in 2012 before scaling up to the first grid-connected pilot system in Gibraltar – which was operational for almost six years from 2016, and clocked up more than 49,632 grid-connected hours.
Other installations have followed in the years since, but it's the Gibraltar setup that was earmarked for removal in early 2022. The floater mechanisms weren't part of the export package, and reportedly would go to recycling, while the conversion unit would be overhauled and updated to meet US electrical standards ahead of transport to the US.
Just before the close of 2022, Eco Wave Power (EWP) announced that the energy conversion unit had arrived at the 35-acre AltaSea campus at the Port of LA – a non-profit that fosters scientific collaboration to find solutions for climate change, food and energy supply and ocean exploration.
"Moving the station from Gibraltar to Los Angeles in just a few months shows yet another strength of our technology: we are one of the only portable renewable energy technologies that can be easily transported, from country to country, to fit the energy needs of any country," said EWP's founder and CEO, Inna Braverman, in December, 2022. "This is just the start in the United States."
The company opened a US subsidiary in April the following year, to serve as the base of operations for potentially tapping into the energy resources afforded by the country's 95,000+ miles of coastline. Then work began to get the project approved for pilot operation.
Following a 3-month feasibility study concluded in April of this year, EWP entered into an agreement with Shell International Exploration and Production Inc to collaborate on the first US pilot. Now the company reports that it has been given the green light to install eight floaters on existing wharf structure at the east side of Municipal Pier One at the Port of LA.
The final Nationwide Permit was granted by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and will also see the placement of two 20-ft shipping containers housing the energy conversion unit on the wharf deck, which will be connected to the floaters.
The installation is expected to be completed by the end of next year's first quarter. It's not clear at this point how long the pilot will run, but EWP has already identified 77 more sites on the US coast with potential for adopting its wave energy technology.
Source: Eco Wave Power