Grays Harbor, Washington
Grays Harbor is a large estuary on the outer coast of Washington state in the Northwest USA. It is about a 2.5-hour drive from Seattle. The harbor is about 15 miles long and wide. It is the only deepwater coastal port north of San Francisco. Notable towns in the area include Aberdeen and Hoquiam on the inland side of the harbor, and Ocean Shores and Westport on the outer coast. The coast offshore is shallow for a long distance. At the state 3-mile boundary the depth is about 80 feet. At 10 miles the depth is about 180 feet.
Grays Harbor used to be a major economic center for the timber and wood products industry. Major pulp and paper factories were supplied by large power transmission lines, railyards and shipyards. But regulation of forests has drastically reduced the timber industry and the county is now economically depressed relative to the rest of the state.
The area has many excellent assets to support offshore energy generation. One of the most unique is the abandoned nuclear power plant at the Satsop Development Park. This 2500 MW plant was abandoned to bankruptcy in the 1980s but not before the transmission to the park was installed, including a 500 KV power line to the regional transmission grid managed by the Bonneville Power Administration. The Park is about 30 miles from the beach at Ocean Shores.
Aerial view of Westport, Washington, looking to the Southeast:
Aerial view of Ocean Shores, Washington, looking south towards Westport across the Grays Harbor bay entrance.
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The Grays Harbor Public Utility District is the regional power utility and
is committed to finding
alternative energy to meet the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard.
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The Grays Harbor Economic Development Council website outlines the many industrial, real estate and other resources available.
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The Port of Grays Harbor had extensive facilities and land available.
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The Grays Harbor Chamber of Commerce is actively supporting sustainable business development.
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Grays Harbor 2020 is a leadership organization dedicated to sustainable development of the region.
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The Coastal Community Action Program in Grays Harbor is building a wind project with three 1.5 MW turbines.
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The Westport Yachts company builds composite-hull motor yachts to 160 ft length - about the length of a composite wind turbine blade.
Coastal erosion is a problem at the towns of Westport and Ocean Shores at Grays Harbor, and at other communities along the coast. The construction of jetties at the Columbia River mouth and the Grays Harbor channel have changed the natural flow of sediments along the coasts. Communities and agencies have spent millions of dollars replacing sand and rebuilding roads washed away by waves. Reduction of wave energy could reduce the rate of erosion, potentially saving millions of dollars and preventing more damage.
Grays Harbor is a location ideally suited to be a base for ocean energy development off the coast. The community strongly needs and wants economic development; there is extensive under-utilized industrial capacity and a deep-water port; there is major transmission capacity to Satsop and then to Aberdeen, leaving only a 15 mile section to the outer coast for significant transmission to be installed.
Grays Harbor is unique in the world as the best possible place to base a major ocean renewable energy industry. This is an opportunity for sustainable economic development on the grand scale, supporting a region and eventually the whole state of Washington.