Developed with electricity generating equipment inside, the Sea Beav 1 (seen below) showed potential to harness wave energy in an initial test off the Northwest Pacific coast. The test was conducted by OSU scientists in conjunction with Columbia Power Technology.

OSU scientists have been researching wave energy for years, and their vision (depicted below) is for an entire system of buoys off the West Coast. This vision is not a small amount of energy. “Our wave energy resource is about equivalent to our entire hydro resource," said Annette Von Jouanne, OSU Professor of Electrical Engineering, “"We have tremendous potential off the Oregon Coast. We have these waves that have been building up all the way across the Pacific," Von Jouanne said.

Experts at OSU say close to 11 percent of U.S. energy could someday be supplied by wave energy, and Oregon is being touted as the prime location for the nation's first commercial wave energy parks. The first commercial power buoy will go on line this summer, with nine additional buoys the summer of 2010. Ocean Power Technologies is in charge of the development.

Plasti-Fab was choosen for this project because of our structural composite expertise. The vessel needed to be able to withstand the corrosive ocean environment and powerful weather systems. Our large scale composite capital equipment made Plasti-Fab the right vendor for the job.

Original story provided by KVAL.com.