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Offshore showcase set for fall
Published September 1, 2009
FREEPORT — The waves crashing to shore off Bryan Beach soon could help create drinking water.
The platform and 18 pumps to power a wave-energy demonstration that will desalinate saltwater are set to arrive late October or early November, Texas Independent Natural Resources LLC Chief Financial Officer Dan Kind said.
Start-up is expected right away, Kind said.
“The ability to show off the technology off the coast of Freeport is kind of like the spark that lights the fuse as to other folks looking at this technology as answers for any number of uses,” Kind said.
The demonstration will use waves coming to shore to move pumps that will churn a wheel, powering a desalination facility atop the platform. The desalinated water will be bottled and used to demonstrate the viability of the technology on a larger scale.
“Initially the plan is that it will be bottled by a commercial bottler in corn-based plastic bottles that are recyclable as well as compostable, so that it does not sit in a landfill for 600 years,” he said. “A portion of that water would be available to the public, but the greatest use would be to provide it to decision-makers in forms of governments and businesses to illustrate what we were able to accomplish off the coast of Freeport.”
The company, owned by Minnesota-based Independent Natural Resources Inc., started plans to build its demonstration in Freeport over the summer after being spurned by nearby Surfside Beach.
Surfside Beach leaders decided not to add water desalination to the village’s zoning ordinance last year after getting numerous complaints from residents concerned about traffic and noise problems.
After the rejection, company officials proposed placing the desalination facility atop the platform instead of on land. Kind said the change should negate any noise concerns and make the process of desalinating water cheaper.
“The platform itself is the difference,” he said. “Rather than pumping all this water to shore and using a water tower and turbines onshore, the platform process is less intrusive and is also more cost-effective to have it entirely offshore.”
Both company and Freeport officials believe the demonstration will be a boon for the area, attracting environmentalists, classes and those interested in emerging technologies.
“That’s going to be welcome in the city of Freeport,” Mayor Larry McDonald said. “Any tourism that we can draw to this area is good. I know I’d like to see it. Hopefully, they’ll give me a pass.”
Company officials plan to build an educational facility or another attraction in the area once the demonstration comes online, Kind said. He did not know where the facility would go, but one possibility could be land purchased near Sam’s Pier in Surfside Beach.
Additional buildings, such as restaurants, could come later, Kind said.
“We know there are going to be people coming down there to see it, and the infrastructure would change over time,” Kind said. “So we need to be able to host people from around the country and the world.”
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