||| FROM SUZANNE OLSON for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT |||
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office has competitively selected OPALCO as one of two organizations to explore tidal energy development for what OPALCO hopes will become the first tidal generation project in US waters. The OPALCO team will engage with stakeholders, conduct technical feasibility, and initiate preliminary permitting activities over the next ten months. At the end of the grant term, only one of the two organizations will be funded to move forward with development of a full project.
OPALCO’s proposed site is off Blakely Island in Rosario Strait. OPALCO has completed initial grant funded research for this project including engagement with tribes and regulatory agencies, tidal flow studies, and environmental impacts. OPALCO intends to partner with Orbital Marine in the Orkney Islands of Scotland to provide the tidal generator for the project. Their patented tidal generator machine has been in the water operating for two years under conditions very similar to our Salish Sea. Learn more at: https://www.opalco.com/quick-fact-opalco-tidal-energy-pilot-project/2022/11/.
“Our exploration into tidal energy could help balance the local renewable generation and help keep the lights on when the sun goes down and the wind doesn’t blow,” said OPALCO’s General Manager, Foster Hildreth.
Two workshops on tidal energy were well attended by Co-op members in 2023 and more sessions are planned for 2024. There will be an information table on tidal energy at OPALCO’s Annual Meeting (April 26, 3-6p at OPALCO’s Eastsound campus). Check OPALCO’s online calendar for other upcoming events as they develop.
Reach out to tidal@opalco.com if you want to receive periodic updates on the project.
There are no single or simple solutions for figuring out the complexities of our future energy supply. OPALCO is exploring a variety of possible technologies to build reliable, sustainable and carbon-free resources in San Juan County. Tidal energy is one of those technologies that could make sense for our islanded territory, but there are big hurdles to overcome such as in-depth environmental studies, additional grant funding, furthing regional partnerships and electrical system updates.
Orcas Power & Light Cooperative (OPALCO) is our member-owned cooperative electric utility, serving more than 11,400 members on 20 islands in San Juan County. OPALCO provides electricity that is 97% greenhouse-gas free and is generated predominantly by hydroelectric plants. OPALCO was founded in 1937.
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Finally! Tidal generation is an obvious zero-carbon energy source for SJC and other coastal communities nationwide. The details are complex, as they always are, and the cost/benefit ratio won’t look good initially but this project isn’t about competing with Bonneville Power on price in the moment, it’s about figuring out how to best utilize the renewable energy resources available to us in the LONG TERM; which may include drought on the east side, wildly expensive nuclear generation schemes (remember WPPSS? aka “Whoops!”), mainland grid/transmission line failures and monopolistic rate hikes. By that latter, I mean WE have effectively zero say in Bonneville’s rates and it doesn’t take a seer to predict those rates are only going to go UP.
I wonder how many times that Orbital Marine design will get reported as a crashed airplane? The ferry workers will have to work on a collection of outlandish stories to tell the tourists… “Well, ya see, that plane crashed a few years ago but it didn’t sink and they noticed the propellers were turning in the current, so they just threw out an anchor and they run those engines backwards to power Blakely island…”
Good going, OPALCO!!
The Orbital Marine design generator boom arms extend downward at ~45 degree angle while it’s generating power. So it’ll just look like a low profile ship riding at anchor. The photo shows the booms raised horizontal in what OMD calls “maintenance mood”.
I hope this works and doesn’t require too much maintenance. Cause that will be the biggie for operational costs. As long as the moon keeps circling the earth, the fuel to run this thing will be free.