Giant turbine sparks outrage in WA orca habitat: ‘Like a 747 in the water’

|||FROM  FOX13 SEATTLE |||

The Brief

• OPALCO’s proposed tidal energy project in the Salish Sea faces opposition due to concerns about its impact on endangered killer whales.
• The cooperative argues the turbine is necessary to prevent future blackouts, while critics question its ecological impact and transparency.
• The project is under review, with efforts to address stakeholder concerns and balance renewable energy needs with environmental preservation.

ORCAS ISLAND, Wash. – It’s being called revolutionary by some, reckless by others. A proposed tidal energy project in the Salish Sea is facing fierce pushback from environmental groups and the Swinomish Tribe. They say the technology could endanger the region’s last remaining Southern Resident killer whales.

At the center of it all — a utility company trying to prevent blackouts before the lights go out for good.

The project, spearheaded by the Orcas Power and Light Cooperative (OPALCO), would install a massive tidal turbine—roughly the size of a Boeing 747—in the Rosario Strait, a narrow waterway between Blakely and Cyprus Islands frequented by boaters and home to endangered southern resident killer whales.

“This is a huge piece of equipment,” said Sheri Tarantino, executive director of the advocacy group Orca Conservancy. “It could definitely mask their search for food.”

Tarantino, a vocal opponent, has called the proposal “incompetent” and “outrageous,” warning, “This project, with it only powering 400 homes, to me, is just another nail in the coffin for the southern resident killer whale population.”

WA tidal energy project: an environmental nightmare?

What they’re saying:

OPALCO argues the turbine is a necessary response to an increasingly unstable power grid. The cooperative serves San Juan County, which currently relies on two submarine cables for electricity.

“Our problem is that we have these two cables that are providing power to San Juan County and they’re limited in how much they can do,” said Vince Dauciunas, OPALCO Board President. “Somewhere past 2030 we’re going to have a real problem if we don’t find local generation capability.”

Foster Hildreth, OPALCO’s General Manager, echoed the urgency. “What’s at stake is really rolling blackouts,” he said. “When the power goes out from the mainland or goes out because we’re in a storm, people can get harmed—people could die.”

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