AquaEnergy Bouyed by Regulatory Progress (Puget Sound Business Journal)
Wave energy company AquaEnergy Ltd. of Seattle is through an environmental assessment and is ready to apply for a permit to install its offshore buoys. The passage of Washington's I-937 was good news for the company and its parent, who expects to go public within weeks.
November 22, 2006
AquaEnergy's encironmental assessment was the first time commercial process of its kind has been conducted in the United States, reports PSBJ's Dierdre Gregg in an article last week. Overall the company has faced the permitting processes of 15 federal, state and tribal agencies.
If FERC approves its permit, AquaEnergy will float four buoys in 150 feet of water off the northwestern tip of the continental U.S., generating 1,500 MWh per year. The approval and installation process are expected to take another two to three years.
Washington's renewable energy standard, passed as Initiative 937 in this month's election, could help AquaEnergy. Its B.C.-based arent company Finavera Renewables isn't waiting. A company spokesman said Finavera will go public on the Toronto Stock Exchange this month, and invest US$10 million in AquaEnergy in the next few years.
AquaEnergy's technology uses the vertical motion of waves to pressurize water, which in turn drives a turbine that generates electricity.
Company president Alla Weinstein explained to me last year why the U.S. is one of the least receptive markets for wave energy. According to this article, she has her sights on Portugal and South Africa next.