Gallery: OSU launches wave energy testing system in the Pacific

The Ocean Sentinel is a $1.5 million high-tech monitoring device developed by the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center. It hit the Pacific Ocean earlier this month. 

This solar-powered monitor buoy collects data from the wave buoys and the Sentinel. 

The Ocean Sentinel, launched this month, will help scientists determine what types of wave energy buoys work best under different kinds of wave conditions. 

The Ocean Sentinel will operate in a one-square-mile site about two miles northwest of Yaquina Head near Newport.  

A large part of NNMREC's program is to study environmental impacts of wave energy buoys on the surrounding ocean ecosystem. 

"We're still trying to figure out what will happen when some of these devices have to stand up to 50-foot waves," said Sean Moran, ocean test facilities manager with NNMREC. 

The Ocean Sentinel testing platform will gather data from a variety of wave energy technologies and compare their performance in a variety of conditions.  

The first wave device to be tested by the Ocean Sentinel facility is this buoy, called "WetNZ" developed by Wave Energy Technology-New Zealand. When it's in the water, only the yellow portion of the device will be visible. 

Wave energy is still in its infancy, but scientists say that the Oregon Coast is the ideal place to test it in a challenging environment.