NLR and Partners Unveil America’s First Pre-Permitted Proving Ground for Commercial-Scale Wave Energy Converters on Oregon Coast By Karen Petersen, NLR On Aug. 27, the nation’s first grid-connected, internationally accredited open-ocean wave energy test facility made its debut on the Oregon coast. The National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) marked the milestone at PacWave South’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, hosted by Oregon State University (OSU). PacWave’s grand opening was a watershed moment in a long-running joint mission to open a new frontier for the emerging marine energy industry. After 15 years of planning, design, and construction, the PacWave South test site is officially open for business, committing its multimillion-dollar infrastructure to an energetic ocean environment. The entrance to the PacWave Utility Connection and Monitoring Facility near Seal Rock, Oregon. Photo from Darryl Lai, Oregon State University NLR is a foundational partner of PacWave, which is led by OSU and funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Hydropower and Hydrokinetic Office (H2O). Along with NLR, partners and collaborators include other national laboratories, utilities, philanthropists, and research institutions. “This milestone highlights the collective engineering and operational achievements that have delivered a world‑class test facility poised to accelerate innovation and advance the marine energy industry,” NLR PacWave lead Arlinda Huskey said. Licensed To Scale PacWave South is similar to its counterpart, PacWave North, in that both are open-ocean test beds operated by OSU within several miles of the deep-water commercial port of Newport, Oregon. Trial by deep water: Deployed 7 miles offshore on the Outer Continental Shelf at depths of 213 to 256 feet, the PacWave South site is situated to expose WECs and supporting infrastructure to an extreme open-ocean wave environment—the ultimate test of system durability, resilience, and endurance. Image from OSU Unlike PacWave North, the grid-connected, pre-permitted PacWave South can host wave energy converters (WECs) designed for large-scale commercial applications. Its four test berths, each equipped with a 5-megawatt subsea transmission cable, connect to OSU’s onshore Utility Connection and Monitoring Facility near Driftwood Beach State Park. The PacWave South test facility operates under a comprehensive 25-year Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) operating license and is pre-permitted to host up to 20 WECs at once. For wave energy developers, that creates an unprecedented opportunity to test their technologies in the open ocean without having to navigate environmental assessments and other federal regulatory requirements on their own. OSU’s Utility Connection and Monitoring Facility, where power generated by wave energy devices tested at PacWave can be connected to the local power grid. Photo from Darryl Lai, Oregon State University When PacWave South is operating at full capacity, the WECs installed there will be able to transmit up to 20 megawatts of wave energy to the grid. “The systems tested at PacWave will be able to test—and prove—their technologies on the way to commercialization” said NLR PacWave project manager Kelly Gjestvang. “Not only will they be testing their devices’ ability to perform in the open ocean off the coast of Oregon, but they will also be proving their devices’ ability to safely send power to the grid.” Bridging the Valley of Death On the epic journey from concept to market, DOE covers costs for in-lab testing at NLR’s Flatirons Campus via two primary funding mechanisms to help bridge the formidable chasm between field validation and commercial viability, known as the commercialization “valley of death”: The TEAMER Program: NLR participates in the Testing and Expertise for Marine Energy (TEAMER) network. This program awards “vouchers” that tech developers can redeem at NLR to access the laboratory’s marine energy expertise, wave motion simulators, and modeling capabilities free of charge. Direct DOE solicitations: H2O periodically releases specific multimillion-dollar funding opportunity announcements. When a developer wins one of these awards, a portion of those federal dollars may be allocated to pay for NLR’s third-party testing and open-water risk management. PacWave represents a next-level opportunity for wave energy developers—from institutional researchers to commercial startups—to make the leap from conducting experiments in the lab to putting their tech to the ultimate test in the open ocean. To meet this business development need, they must generally pay for testing at PacWave South, although there are opportunities to apply for DOE funding. Built To Mitigate Risk For more than a decade, NLR has worked with OSU to advance PacWave’s development. The laboratory’s contributions have focused primarily on building out the engineering and regulatory framework needed to make the PacWave test site viable. While OSU manages the physical site, NLR’s scope of work has included a range of technical support, including: Grid integration and electrical modeling—Long before cables were laid under Driftwood Beach, NLR engineers assessed PacWave’s grid impacts. They developed complex models used to simulate how wave energy from PacWave South would impact local utility infrastructure. The results helped the regional grid mitigate risks associated with destabilization or power surges. An update to NLR’s 2022 grid impact report is underway. Data standardization and international accreditation—Along with procuring and deploying Waverider buoys to characterize PacWave South’s wave environment, NLR performed a test site characterization in accordance with the power performance assessment to establish accredited testing quality standards for the facility. To ensure the collected data is accepted by commercial markets worldwide, NLR spearheaded the site’s alignment with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards. Component and systems validation testing—Given the technical and financial risk involved in open-ocean experimentation, NLR lets developers use its testing capabilities and laboratory facilities in Colorado to stress-test and de-risk components before running trials at PacWave South. NLR researchers provide DOE-funded technical support to help selected developers evaluate hardware and software, benchmark reliability, mitigate identified vulnerabilities, and refine deployment plans. NLR water power researchers recently tested the hydraulic and electric reverse osmosis wave energy converter’s new belt on NLR’s large-amplitude motion platform in Colorado. Photo by Taylor Mankle, National Laboratory of the Rockies “NLR’s most significant technical contribution to the design and development of PacWave has been to ensure that the facility incorporates NLR’s decades of experience in testing novel energy technologies to meet international standards,” said NLR Emeritus Researcher Bob Thresher. “As PacWave opens for business, this provides its customers with the benefit of unparalleled testing expertise, assuring high-quality testing and global acceptance of the results.” A data and energy cable and connection inside the Utility Connection and Monitoring Facility. PacWave’s system includes nearly 50 miles of cable to transmit power from PacWave’s ocean testing berths back to the onshore monitoring facility. Photo from Darryl Lai, Oregon State University Certified To Meet Global Standards While NLR has provided technical support to PacWave for more than a decade, its recent push to secure international accreditation has been pivotal to the facility’s readiness for active WEC deployments. NLR leveraged its ISO/IEC 17025-accredited status—which covers wave and tidal power performance testing, measurement of mechanical loads, electrical power quality requirements, and acoustic characterization performed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory—to build out PacWave’s accredited testing framework. NLR’s accreditation support enabled PacWave to verify that it has the quality-control procedures, calibrated equipment, and technical expertise required to generate globally recognized and accepted data and test reports for product certification. Working with the European Marine Energy Centre, NLR provided resources and training to inform PacWave of the requirements of both ISO/IEC 17025 and 17020. The latter is a globally recognized framework established for inspection bodies to operate with competence, impartiality, and consistency in ensuring installations’ compliance with standards, regulations, and contracts. A sign at Oregon’s Driftwood Beach State Park provides visitors with information about wave power and the PacWave project. Photo from Darryl Lai, Oregon State University “In the marine energy sector, accreditation is the holy grail on the path to commercialization,” Thresher said. “For developers looking to secure the backing of private investors and insurance underwriters, self-reported test numbers don’t cut it. NLR’s work to anchor PacWave South to an accredited testing framework has empowered the facility to provide developers with third-party validation that global commercial markets trust.” NLR’s accreditation support has been key to ensuring that the performance data collected from WECs at PacWave South meet rigorous international standards for commercial validation. To survive the “valley of death” between prototype design and commercial production, developers must prove their devices work as advertised. “This milestone highlights the collective engineering and operational achievements that have delivered a world‑class test facility poised to accelerate innovation and advance the marine energy industry.” —NLR PacWave Lead Arlinda Huskey Made To Launch a Marine Energy Moonshot As developers step up to put their tech to the ultimate test at PacWave South, NLR’s work elevating PacWave from regional research hub to internationally trusted commercial launchpad continues. Through ongoing data collection, expert analysis, and field audits, NLR aims to help maintain PacWave’s adherence to established benchmarks for resource assessment, power performance, power quality, and regulatory compliance. Meanwhile, NLR continues to advance pivotal efforts to characterize the performance of grid-connected WECs deployed in the open ocean—helping fuel marine energy’s push into a new frontier. NLR’s accredited testing capabilities help developers evaluate and advance emerging wave energy technologies in real-world environments. Partner with NLR to explore testing opportunities at PacWave.
