AMERICAS | PROJECTS
OREGON MAKES WAVES IN ENERGY RESEARCH
PacWave South will be the first pre-permitted, full-scale test facility for wave energy devices in the US. Jacobs partnered with the HDD Company and Oregon State University to help deliver the US first, on Oregon’s Pacific Coast. The project, which includes offshore bores, is described by Nason McCullough, Vice President and Senior Geotechnical Engineer, Jacobs; Phill Perron, Vice President, Projects, The HDD Company; and, Dan Hellin, Deputy Director, PacWave
There are easier places to build than along the wild and rugged Oregon coastline. But the high wave energy of the Pacific Ocean offers an ideal testing environment for wave energy devices and explains why the region was chosen as the location for the PacWave South project. Once completed, PacWave South will become the
first pre-permitted, full-scale test facility for wave energy devices in the US. Jacobs partnered with the HDD Company in support
of Oregon State University (OSU) developing the project, which will provide a platform for up to 20 different Wave Energy Converters to be tested in real-world conditions in the open sea. The powerful ocean off the coast of Oregon offers
an ideal testing environment for these prototypes, allowing for comprehensive testing across a wide range of conditions. This phase of the project comprised of four offshore
steel conduits, each extending up to 120ft beneath the seafloor and reaching a mile offshore.
The offshore conduits run into an underground vault
facilitating the transition to onshore infrastructure – a bundle of five conduits made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). From the vault, the five conduits extend half a mile to PacWave’s Utility Connection and Monitoring Facility, where the results of the offshore testing will be analyzed.
PROTECTING SENSITIVE WETLANDS After an extensive public consultation process that spanned several years, Newport in Oregon was selected as the location of the offshore testing site, and Seal Rock selected as the landing site. One of the major factors in the offshore site selection was the need to ensure that construction would not interfere with commercial fishing activities. For the landing site in Seal Rock, the parking lot of
Driftwood Beach State Park was used to minimize additional disturbance of the environment and surrounding sensitive wetlands by providing an already developed location to stage the construction.
Right:
PacWave South project: HDD Drill rig for the offshore bores in operation, reaming the borehole to the final 18-inch diameter through the starter casing ALL IMAGES: DAN HELLIN
20 | Summer 2024
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