At Central Lincoln, we've always kept our eye on the electricity market to find the best deal for our customers. So far, Bonneville Power Administration has always offered us the best deal, but soon we're going to have to find another source for at least some of the power we sell.

One of the most interesting new sources being studied is the generation of electricity through the wave action of the ocean. And it turns out that Oregon is in the forefront of these studies.

A recent study by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) found that the Oregon coast could be the best spot in the United States to develop wave energy test and production facilities. Specifically, Gardiner and Newport are the most likely candidates. And Central Lincoln People's Utility District has been actively involved in the process of making it possible from the beginning.

The Gardiner site has all the necessary ingredients, including good wave action, favorable undersea terrain, existing marine access, and land-based electrical transmission lines. Newport has all of that, plus the Hatfield Marine Science Center.

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Meanwhile, researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) are developing technologies for wave generation that are functional, and that can survive hostile ocean conditions. The OSU College of Engineering has a number of existing facilities that make it ideal for more advanced research.

All of this could make the Oregon coast the new center of wave energy development in the United States.

Wave energy is just about where wind power was fifteen or twenty years ago. That means there are many bugs to be worked out of systems, many ideas to be tried and evaluated, and economies of scale to be developed as more players enter the picture.

But the players are beginning to line up. A consortium of utilities, private businesses and government agencies are all getting involved.

The hope is that several private companies will test various types of generating equipment off the coast of Oregon, ultimately setting up several full-fledged energy production facilities. The electricity would then either be used by Central Lincoln, or passed through our facilities to other utilities for resale.

If wave energy does become the "wave of the future," it will be in part because of your publicly-owned electric utility.

To find out more about the OSU research program, go to http://eecs.oregonstate.edu/msrf/.