Wave Energy Survives Policy Shifts as PacWave South Test Bed Presses Ahead

While US President Donald Trump has directed criticism at wind turbines and solar panels, wave energy has managed to avoid the same fate. The PacWave South test bed remains operational, according to CleanTechnica, suggesting that marine renewable energy may be charting a different course through the current policy landscape.

The facility, positioned off the Oregon coast, gives developers a real-world environment to trial wave energy converters. Unlike solar and wind, which have become lightning rods in political debates, wave technology has largely stayed below the radar — a status that may now work in its favor.

Observers of the renewable sector often describe wave energy as a slumbering giant, and the sector’s “tsunami” has been predicted before. Whether this test bed’s survival translates into broader commercial momentum remains to be seen, but the infrastructure needed to prove the concept is at least still in place.