Next week, a new energy source is set to debut at the Port of Los Angeles: the nation’s first wave energy generation plant.

Israeli wave energy generation company Eco Wave Power Global, backed by London-based oil giant Shell plc’s marine renewable program, has built a wave energy generation demonstration plant at the campus of the AltaSea ocean institute.

The plant uses Tel Aviv-based Eco Wave’s technology to harness the kinetic energy from the up-and-down motion of waves and convert it into electricity. As a demonstration project, the plant is expected to be capable of generating 100 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power more than 50 single-family homes.

Eco Wave’s system has two main components: massive floaters and an energy conversion unit. The floaters are anchored to a shoreline fixture that move up and down, activating pistons that transmit kinetic energy into the energy conversion unit. The unit then converts the kinetic energy into usable electricity that can be sent onto the power grid.

‘First testing phase’

This is unlike most other wave energy deployments, which are often anchored to the seabed and have long pipes heading to shore to connect to landside power grids. These projects have met opposition from environmentalists and others concerned about widespread impacts to the marine environment.

Eco Wave contends that by placing the floaters next to the shoreline, its system has less overall environmental impact.

Eco Wave’s floaters and energy conversion unit were installed last month at the Alta Sea site, using two local contractors: C&S Welding Inc., a Wilmington-based, family-owned marine contractor, and All-Ways Metal, a woman-owned Gardena fabrication company, which manufactured the floaters. Shell has been covering much of this construction and installation cost, though the funding amount was not disclosed.

“With the ECU on-site, we are now preparing for the first testing phase of our U.S. pilot and showcasing a path toward practical wave energy adoption in America,” Inna Braverman, Eco Wave Global’s founder and chief executive, said in an announcement at the time.

According to the announcement, this project is meant to demonstrate the wave energy technology to key local, state and national energy regulatory decision-makers. It will also add to Eco Wave’s growing database on wave energy generation; the company has one other operating project inside Israel and has deployments planned for India, Portugal and Taiwan.