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06.17.09

Oregon Well Situated For Ocean Energy

There are a series of coincidences that make Oregon well-suited to take advantage of ocean power.

Advantage one: Oregon has a coastline. But unlike the states along the eastern seaboard, the waves that reach our coast are large and regular—because they have thousands of miles to grow. Prevailing weather means that waves develop from west to east.

Advantage two: the state sits around the 45th parallel, where waves are apparently bigger, according to Bob Paasch the direct of the newly formed Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center.

Advantage three: in order to bring electricity ashore, you need industrial scale substations close to the ocean. Oregon has dozens of those in the form of shuttered old logging mills.
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