Tell Congress to pass the Marine Energy Technologies Acceleration Act!

Startup Eco Wave Power has installed a pilot 100-kilowatt wave energy system, the biggest-ever wave power project in the U.S., on a wharf at the Port of Los Angeles, generating clean electrons with seven “floaters” that build up pressure in hydraulic pistons to drive a rotating motor onshore. Critically, this means that the moving parts are never in direct contact with highly corrosive seawater, which has historically been the big degradation issue preventing mass deployment of wave energy systems.

The potential for this wave energy technology is immense. Eco Wave Power is already building a self-funded 40-floater 1 MW system in Portugal and looking for a site in New Jersey, with many more possibilities in the pipeline around the world.

They’ve calculated that extending floaters along the entire LA breakwater would generate 60 MW of baseload clean power — while helping protect the coast by absorbing the force of oncoming waves. Their wave energy systems also slot easily into existing port infrastructure and don’t take up valuable real estate. They’d be a clear win-win upgrade for ports across America!

Congresswomen Nanette Díaz Barragán and Suzanne Bonamici have proposed the Marine Energy Technologies Acceleration Act, which would grant $1 billion in funding for the Energy Department to advance the research, development, and scale-up of marine energy technologies like wave power in the United States. At a time of rising electricity prices due to senseless slowdowns of clean energy, this would be a great opportunity to advance a promising new source of clean, reliable power!

Tell Congress to pass the Marine Energy Technologies Acceleration Act!