Cal Poly Pier selected by U.S. Department of Energy to host wave energy research program
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. – The Cal Poly Pier was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to host the agency's first open water research pier of wave energy technologies Tuesday.
The new partnership at the 3,000-foot-long Cal Poly Pier about 11 miles south of Cal Poly's campus and just west of Avila Beach is through the Testing Expertise and Access to Marine Energy Research Program (TEAMER) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The program, which was first announced in March of 2019, is designed to foster research and development of wave energy commercialization and is managed by Pacific Energy Trust, a non-profit group dedicated to promoting ocean-based climate and energy solutions.
TEAMER has offered 15 rounds of requests for technical support for marine renewable energy developers and researchers with two more rounds scheduled for later this year.
First built in 1984 by Unocal Corporation and donated to Cal Poly in 2001, the pier extends deep into the San Luis Obispo Bay which allows for ample depth for deploying submersible equipment and far enough into the Pacific Ocean to facilitate a 100-gallon per minute flow through seawater system that is partially protected by the Port San Luis Breakwater about 1.8 kilometers to the southwest.
"The Cal Poly Pier is set up extremely well to test equipment from an easily accessible, shore-based facility without the expense and complications of chartering vessels," explained Dr. Ben Ruttenberg, Director of Cal Poly’s Center for Coastal Marine Sciences. "Organizations will be able to design their wave energy or other devices and test them easily. The pier is the perfect launching spot for that important (research and development) work."
The new TEAMER site is expected to attract private and public interests focused on early-stage research and development attempting to tap into the natural movements of waves to generate energy.
"This exciting announcement marks an opportunity for growth and moving marine energy forward," said. Dr. Dean Wendt, Dean of Cal Poly’s Bailey College of Science and Mathematics. "Innovative technologies that can provide important, sustainable energy solutions will help provide needed infrastructure long into the future. The university’s marine science infrastructure is proud to play a role in supporting this invaluable research and development."
