Image Credit: Renewable Energy World
Located on the Gulf of Alaska, the 750 kW Yakutat Wave Energy Project is set to make life easier for locales who have so far had to rely on diesel prices as high as $8 per gallon, thanks to the 1,000 mile journey the fuel has to make by road to get there.
And now, Resolute Marine Energy (RME) have announced that Ocean Renewable Power Company’s subsidiary, ORPC Solutions, will be providing project management and regulatory services for the project.
The remote community of 650 inhabitants have had their economic and social viability threatened by the absurdly priced diesel costs, but the self-sufficiency program based around the Yakutat Wave Energy Project is set to make this problem disappear, hopefully.
RME will be installing its SurgeWEC wave energy converters at an ocean site nearby the existing Yakutat Power municipal power grid. RME has already obtained a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission preliminary permit for the site, and is now working on obtaining a formal license application to the commission.
“I’m very pleased to see the progress that’s being made on the Yakutat Wave Energy Project and we’re very excited that ORPC is now a part of the team,” said Scott Newlun, General Manager of the City and Borough of Yakutat Power Company. “I strongly believe that ocean energy will eventually become a large part of the world’s renewable energy mix, and we’re hopeful that Yakutat will be the site of the first commercial wave energy project in the United States.”
“ORPC’s demonstrated success in permitting marine hydrokinetic projects and the company’s strong relationships with regulatory agencies will be of great benefit as we move from preliminary to final permit status and start deploying our wave energy converters in 2015,” said RME Co-Founder and CEO, Bill Staby.
“We share RME’s commitment to help remote communities address their challenging energy needs,” said Chris Sauer, ORPC President and CEO, “and we’re pleased to help RME make its Yakutat Wave Energy Project a reality.”
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