First U.S. On-Shore Wave-Energy Pilot Switches On at the Port of Los Angeles

First U.S. On-Shore Wave-Energy Pilot Switches On at the Port of Los Angeles
by Bradley Bartz for Energy-Daily.com
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 11, 2025

The bright-blue floaters leaned out from the seawall at AltaSea and began to breathe with the water - up, down, up again - signaling a new chapter for America's blue-economy. With that motion, Eco Wave Power formally launched the first on-shore wave-energy pilot operating in U.S. waters, hosted at the Port of Los Angeles.

Unlike offshore machines that require seabed foundations, Eco Wave Power's modules bolt to existing port infrastructure. As waves rise and fall, hinged arms drive hydraulic systems that generate electricity on land, turning the natural movement of the harbor into clean, localized power. It's an approach designed for the gritty realities of working ports: low visual profile, easier maintenance access, and minimal in-water construction.

'Ready to scale' moment for ports

In remarks to a crowd of port workers, engineers, students, and public officials, leaders framed the installation as both a milestone and a starting gun.

Terry Tamminen, CEO of AltaSea, called the site a "living laboratory" where data, reliability, and serviceability will be measured against the needs of a 24/7 port.

Michael Galvin, the Port of LA's Director of Waterfront and Commercial Real Estate, tied the pilot directly to the port complex's zero-emissions push, emphasizing the role of localized energy sources that can run alongside solar, storage, and shore-power infrastructure.

Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan (CA-44) highlighted growing federal interest in marine energy - momentum that could speed U.S. demonstrations from pilot to commercial replication.

Inna Braverman, Founder and CEO of Eco Wave Power, underscored the platform's fit for built environments: installed along breakwaters, quays, and piers, without sending heavy equipment offshore.

Local and regional champions - including Los Angeles Councilmember Tim McOsker (CD15), community leaders, and port-side businesses - stressed the opportunity to build supply chains and workforce pathways around wave power as part of Southern California's broader clean-tech cluster. Partners from abroad, including Sandra Lee and other international guests, pointed to active projects in Asia and feasibility efforts in Africa, noting that wave energy is increasingly a global port technology rather than a distant research concept.

Policy tailwinds: California SB 605

California's SB 605 directs the state to craft a strategic roadmap for wave and tidal energy - an important signal for developers, financiers, and ports. The LA Harbor pilot lands squarely within that intent: quantify real-world performance, standardize permitting and operations, and identify where and how shoreline-mounted wave power can complement grid upgrades at major terminals.

Why on-shore wave power - and why ports?

Ports are energy-hungry districts with limited spare land and strict air-quality mandates. Shore power for container ships, cargo-handling equipment, drayage charging, cold-ironing for cruise vessels - all demand reliable electricity at the water's edge. Wave energy is strongest precisely where ports already have walls, caissons, and breakwaters. By mounting floaters on those structures and keeping the generation equipment on land, operators can:

+ Leverage existing assets (no seabed work, faster access for maintenance).

+ Reduce construction risk and cost compared with offshore installations.

+ Add a steady, complementary resource to solar and wind - especially valuable during foggy hours or after sunset when terminal loads remain high.

With roughly 40% of the world's population living within about 60 miles of a coast, the siting logic extends well beyond Los Angeles. Wave-augmented microgrids could support port operations, research campuses, desalination pretreatment, or critical-facility resilience at waterfront hospitals and data centers.

Engineering first, headlines second

Eco Wave Power's LA Harbor array is explicitly a pilot: its job is to produce power and produce answers. How do different swell directions affect output along a straight seawall? What does a maintenance playbook look like for a long string of modules? How quickly can modules be swapped or serviced from the quay? What are the best practices for corrosion protection, biofouling management, and safe public access in a busy harbor?

That operational discipline - permitting, engineering, and supply-chain development - was emphasized repeatedly. The team at AltaSea views the campus as an open platform where universities, startups, utilities, and port tenants can test interfaces, controls, and financing structures around a live system.

A foothold for the blue-economy

Eco Wave Power was founded in 2011 and has installed projects attached to existing maritime structures in multiple countries. The Port of LA site gives the company and its partners a high-visibility U.S. foothold - and a venue to show that wave energy can be a port tool, not just a lab demonstration.

Speakers also looked outward. Delegations referenced active collaboration in Taiwan and emerging opportunities in Cape Town, South Africa, where linear port infrastructure and wave regimes resemble Los Angeles in useful ways. If pilots can demonstrate predictable output, lean operations, and beneficial integration with storage and smart-port systems, replication along long breakwaters becomes the near-term pathway to scale.

What comes next

Data and durability. Twelve months of performance, survivability, and maintenance data in a busy working harbor.

Interconnection playbooks. Templates for connecting shoreline generation to campus microgrids and port distribution systems.

Procurement and jobs. Sourcing strategies that draw from Southern California fabrication, coatings, hydraulics, and marine-services companies.

Policy translation. Using SB 605's roadmap process to clarify permitting and establish standards that other California ports - and U.S. harbors - can adopt.

Bradley Bartz is a Los Angeles - based solar and energy-storage contractor and a contributor to Energy-Daily.com. He photographed and reported this story from the Port of Los Angeles.