FERC News

OPALCO applies for FERC preliminary permit for Rosario Strait Tidal Energy Project

OPALCO applies for FERC preliminary permit for Rosario Strait Tidal Energy Project

Orcas Power & Light Cooperative (OPALCO) has submitted a preliminary permit application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the Rosario Strait Tidal Energy Project (P-15368).

The site for the project is just east of Blakely Island in San Juan County, Wash.

OPALCO is a member-owned, non-profit cooperative utility. OPALCO said an Orbital O2 device deployed at the Rosario Strait location could generate enough energy for about 5% of OPALCO’s annual needs. OPALCO requested a 36-month preliminary permit.

The proposed project would serve as a pilot project to test the capacity of Rosario Strait for tidal turbine technology that supports OPALCO’s microgrid. The Orbital O2 device proposed for use in this location is a floating tidal turbine with a 245-ft-long hull and twin rotors suspended underneath. The device is 165 ft wide including the span of the blades underwater. When operating, the Orbital O2 sits about 90 ft deep in the water column and floats about 5 ft above the waterline and 7.5 ft below the waterline.

If licensed, the project would include one Orbital Marine O2 Floating Tidal Turbine, a submarine cable, and connection to OPALCO’s distribution system via a pre-existing marine shoreline conduit that attaches to an existing land-based shoreline conduit facility on the southern end of Blakely Island.

Total average annual energy production is anticipated to be 5.7 GWh from a 2.4 MW unit.

This project was one of two receiving a combined $6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy in February 2024 to develop a tidal energy research, development and demonstration pilot site in the U.S.

The purpose of a preliminary permit is to preserve the rights of the permit holder to have the first priority in applying for a license for the project that is being studied. A preliminary permit does not authorize the permittee to access lands and does not authorize the permittee to undertake any land-disturbing activities. Permit conditions are framed to ensure the permittee does not tie up a site without pursuing in good faith a study of the project’s feasibility. If the project is found to be feasible, the permittee can use the data and information gathered to prepare an application for a license.