Back in November the Aquabuoy 2.0 wave energy converter — the first ever wave energy test device to be put off the Oregon coast — sank 2.5 miles off the shores of Agate Beach, only one day before its planned retrieval. But because of inclement weather and ocean conditions, retrieving the 75-foot tall, 40-ton buoy was not an option; until this week.
Divers and salvage vessels have been working to retrieve the damaged buoy, which after a 150 foot fall to the ocean floor was in a damaged state. According to unofficial reports, the buoy broke in half during the salvage. The damaged state has forced divers to “cut the supports (of the accelerator tube) to make it easier to bring up,” ending up in a salvage performed in several stages.
Developed by Finavera Renewables based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and built by Portland-based Oregon Iron Works, the salvaged buoy is being transported in pieces back to Finavera’s facilities in Portland. Unfortunately that’s no small task and the original time estimate for completing the salvage is already off. Salvage managers had thought they could bring the buoy in between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Wednesday but the first two pieces of the buoy only came into Yaquina Bay at about 2 a.m. Thursday.
The Newport Surfrider chapter had requested disclosure earlier this year to the Department of State Lands and Finaveras plans for removing the buoy prior to the expiration of the temporary use permit. “We were concerned that the state was going to be left holding the bag on this, and we didnt want it to set precendent for future salvage efforts that will surely come as we explore new alternative energy projects in Oregon,” said Newport Chapter’s Joe Haxel. But asking for help in salvaging efforts is one thing, getting it in a timely manner is another.
In economical terms, $2 million is a lot of money, but the ecological effects of such a buoy sinking and spending a significant amount of time on the seafloor are just as important. The anchors of such a buoy are truck-sized slabs of concrete, and there are five of them; leaving such elements on the seafloor is environmentally destructive. Unfortunately the infrastructure that it takes to respond to such events is not currently in place. Just take the boat used to pull the pieces into Yaquina Bay: it’s the only one on the whole Oregon coast capable of doing so. This requires a two weeks notice before the boat can even arrive on site and begin to help in the salvaging efforts.
The Surfrider Foundation has stated its excitment about wave energy, but also pointed out the need to “move forward with cautious yet optimistic planning.” This requires not just state support for wave energy projects but also an infrastructure that can support them; planning for wave energy is going to entail concurrently planning for response in a timely manner.
But hopefully the sinking of the Aquabuoy 2.0 won’t put a damper on the continued efforts in wave energy technology and it will raise awareness to the need of a state infrastructure to support it. In fact, despite the sinking, the buoy “performed exactly as we thought it would perform,” said Finavera spokesman Myke Clark. That included plenty of data that was collected by engineers thanks to wireless and satellite technology from onboard diagnostic equipment on the buoy. That data, collected before the sinking, will be used to move forward in technological development of new devices, forging a path for wave energy research and development.
