It’s been six years since Ocean Power Technologies applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a preliminary permit to study the feasibility of a renewable energy project off the Oregon Coast. To its credit, 
OPT embarked upon a lengthy collaboration with federal and state regulators and coastal stakeholders to establish conditions for its permanent license. The process was not always smooth and it took sustained effort and commitment by all participants as documented in a previous post.
The good news is that all that hard work paid off. The license permits OPT to deploy wave energy converters for a 1.5 megawatt (MW) ocean energy project. The wave-activated PowerBuoys will be located in Oregon State territorial waters, about 2.5 nautical miles off the beautiful coast of Reedsport in Douglas County, Oregon. Onshore, the project will utilize ~5 acres of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area in the Siuslaw National Forest.
Now, if they can just get a buoy in the water.
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