June 01, 2021 CORVALLIS, Ore. – After nearly a decade of work to obtain regulatory approval, Oregon State University is set to begin construction this month on a wave energy testing facility to be located about seven miles off the coast near Newport. PacWave South will be the first commercial-scale, utility grid-connected wave energy test site in the United States. The approximately $80 million facility will offer wave energy developers the opportunity to try different technologies for harnessing the power of ocean waves and transmitting that energy to the local electrical grid. Power and data cables buried below the seafloor will connect the ocean test site to a shore-based facility in Seal Rock. Construction will begin with underground installation of the conduits that will house the subsea cables.