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PRIMRE/Databases/Projects Database/Projects/OPALCO Tidal Energy Pilot Project
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OPALCO Tidal Energy Pilot Project
This project is aimed to strengthen the resilience of San Juan County's local energy infrastructure by reducing its reliance on submarine cables through local energy generation. Orcas Power and Light Cooperative (OPALCO) partnered with Orbital Marine Power (Orbital) to deploy their Orbital O2 tidal turbine to power an estimated 400 homes in the Rosario Strait near Blakely Island, WA.
Work started on the project in 2018 with the investigation of tidal device types and logistics before formally partnering with Orbital in mid 2021. By the end of 2021 OPACLO, Orbital, Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) and the University of Washington (UW) had received grants for site assessments, tidal energy characterization and preliminary design and permitting through the Testing Expertise and Access for Marine Energy Research (TEAMER) program .
As of 2024 the project has been awarded a renewable energy and research development grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to continue feasibility studies deployment in Rosario Strait. Phase one of the the grant is from June 2024 to June 2025 within which OPALCO will fully characterize the site and submit for a hydrokinetic license. If approved, the project will proceed through phases 2 - 5; detailed characterization, site mobilization, site commissioning and fabrication, then finally testing and operations.
Additional Information
Project Status
Is the project actively being planned or is deployed in the water (active)? Or was the project canceled or completed (inactive)?
Active
Project Life Cycle
Project Progress through life cycle:
- Planned: Project has identified a deployment location and is preparing for deployment
- Operational: Project is deployed in the water and is active
- Completed: Project was previously deployed in the water
- Decommissioned: Installation has been fully removed in accordance with regulations
- Canceled: Project was canceled before being deployed in the water
Planned
Max Rated Power Capacity
The maximum amount of electricity that can be produced by project, based on available resources and device nameplate capacity.
2 MW
Project Start Year
2018
Energy Resource
- Tidal
Project Scale
Full-scale
Number of Devices
1
Grid Connectivity
Grid Connected
Waterbody
Rosario Strait, Blakley Island, Washington
Site Characteristics
Geographic characterization for the project location:
- Open Ocean: Main body of ocean, not enclosed or partially enclosed by land
- Coastal: Open water near the coast, spanning between land and shelf boundary
- Enclosed Bay: water that is partially surrounded by land, with a mouth open to larger water
- Constricted Channel: A channel where water flows quickly due to narrowing by the land
- River: Water flowing from land towards a larger body of water
Constricted Channel
Country
United States
Last Modified
16 May 2025
This Project has the following MRE Devices
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Citation Formats
“OPALCO Tidal Energy Pilot Project.” Marine Energy Projects Database: Projects, PRIMRE, United States Department of Energy, https://openei.org/wiki/PRIMRE/Databases/Projects_Database/Projects/OPALCO_Tidal_Energy_Pilot_Project. Accessed <day> <monthRoman> <year>.
Marine Energy Projects Database: Projects. <year>. "OPALCO Tidal Energy Pilot Project." Accessed <monthRoman> <day>, <year>. https://openei.org/wiki/PRIMRE/Databases/Projects_Database/Projects/OPALCO_Tidal_Energy_Pilot_Project.
