The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA; Portland, Oregon, U.S.) intends to spend around US$1 million in 2007 to address how to generate electricity from the motion of the ocean and how to help tame the intermittent nature of wind power entering the region's electricity grid. BPA says that there is potential for continued funding into future years.

BPA is issuing a formal request for proposals (RFP) to the energy industry to advance technology that can help manage intermittent renewable power resources such as wind energy into the region's grid, as well as advance research on ocean wave and in-stream tidal generation technologies.

“Adding renewable wave energy to the mix, with no associated fossil fuel use or emissions, certainly would fit well with our federal power-supply portfolio and could hold promise as our region's electricity needs continue to grow,” says Steve Hickok, BPA deputy administrator.

The renewable integration portion of the RFP will help support recommendations expected in January from a wind integration study group made up of leaders from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, utilities, renewable power developers and BPA. That group is expected to release a Wind Integration Action Plan setting out strategies to address the issues impacting the electricity grid.