The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation (MMFN) in Yuquot, British Columbia, Canada, has chosen CalWave as the technology provider for a wave energy project. The community, located on Nootka Island just off the west coast of Vancouver Island, has been the traditional home of the MMFN for thousands of years and was once a thriving center of fish and fur trading.

The Indigenous-led project is funded by a grant from TD Bank Group and the Clean Energy in Rural and Remote Communities Program within Natural Resources Canada. It involves a consortium of partners across Canada, including The Pacific Research Institute for Marine Energy Discovery (PRIMED) at the University of Victoria, Barkley Project Group, Canpac Marine Services, and Environmental Dynamics Inc.

The goal is to transform Yuquot into a center for innovation in community development and clean energy. With its historical significance as a trade hub, this project is a groundbreaking initiative for coastal community microgrids that could serve as a model for other communities along the North American Pacific Coast and globally.

CalWave is leading the project with its wave energy technology development expertise. The company has secured multiple R&D contracts from the DOE Water Power Technologies Office and successfully demonstrated its first open-ocean system off the coast of San Diego in 2021 and 2022. It is also contracted by the DOE to deploy its first utility grid-connected system at the 20 MW PacWave test site off the central Oregon coast.