The public-private partnership Oregon Wave Energy Trust (OWET) has failed to bring viable wave energy to Oregon even after spending millions of dollars, it is stated in the report released by Cascade Policy Institute.
OWET is established by the Oregon State Legislature. It has received nearly USD 12 mln in public funding from the Oregon Innovation Council (Oregon InC), another government-sponsored entity.
Oregon InC claims its initiatives must earn a profit, but that is not the case with OWET. None of the money spent to date by OWET has led to any profitability, the report says.
John A. Charles Jr. , Cascade President and CEO, commented: “Electric utilities in Oregon, both public and private, are quite capable of generating and delivering power to their customers. If wave power is a good idea, utilities themselves will bring it to commercial scale. If it’s a bad idea, taxpayers should not be forced to bear all the risks of early-stage experiments.”
The Cascade report recommends that in 2015 Oregon legislative leaders “should closely examine all state-sponsored venture capital funds to determine if grant recipients will ever become financially self-sufficient, as originally envisioned. OWET would be an excellent place to start.”
Cascade Policy Institute is Oregon’s free market public policy research organization.
[mappress mapid=”86″]
Image: OWET