Grid-connected wave power approaches U.S. shores for the first time

The ocean holds an enormous, largely untapped supply of clean energy, and waves carry far more power per square meter than wind. Yet harnessing them has long been stuck in the testing phase, defeated by storms, salt and the brutal forces of the sea. On February 2, 2026, the American Society of Civil Engineers reported that commercial wave power may finally be reaching the U.S. mainland, through a project off the Oregon coast.

At the center is PacWave South, a grid-connected test facility about seven miles offshore in roughly 240 feet of water. It can host up to 20 utility-scale wave energy converters and deliver 20 megawatts of power to shore. The site plans to host its first companies in the summer of 2026, with CalWave's xWave technology among those set to operate there and Eco Wave Power running a separate shore-based demonstration in Los Angeles. Crucially, the Bonneville Power Administration signed a power purchase agreement to buy up to 20 megawatt-hours of wave energy per hour, the first such PPA covering the continental United States, spanning 2026 to 2030.

“Yet harnessing them has long been stuck in the testing phase, defeated by storms, salt and the brutal forces of the sea.”

Why it matters is both scale and reliability. Marine energy represents a large share of the nation's available power potential, and waves are more predictable and consistent than many renewables. Wave power could strengthen grid resilience for coastal communities and help diversify clean energy beyond solar and wind. A real purchase agreement, rather than another pilot, signals that utilities are beginning to treat wave power as a genuine resource.

The honest caveats are substantial. Wave energy has a long history of promising starts that struggled to survive harsh ocean conditions and high costs, and converters at PacWave still must prove durable, affordable performance over years at sea. Regulatory, infrastructure and funding barriers remain real. Even so, the first grid-connected wave converters and the first mainland purchase agreement together mark a genuine turning point. If these machines hold up, the steady pulse of the ocean could become a dependable new source of clean electricity for the coast.