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Ocean Power Technologies Inc. has tapped Clackamas-based Oregon Iron Works to construct its first commercial wave energy station in North America.
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The construction of the PowerBuoy system is the first phase of an expected 1.5-megawatt wave power station located off the Oregon coast near Reedsport.

The Reedsport wave energy station will utilize 10 PowerBuoy systems, with the nine remaining PowerBuoys to be constructed and installed under the second phase of the project.

Ocean Power expects the project to generate approximately 4,140 megawatt-hours annually based on the wave resource of the site, which is enough to power about 375 homes. Clean electricity generated by the device will offset 2,110 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

The Reedsport wave project will be financed by funding from the Department of Energy, federal and Oregon state tax credits and investment from Ocean Power Technologies and other companies.

Both Ocean Power and Oregon Iron expect the construction of the 150-kilowatt PowerBuoy P150 wave energy device to create approximately 30 jobs over the next nine months.

The device uses the rise and fall of waves to move the buoy up and down, which then powers an electric generator inside. The electricity is then transmitted ashore via an underwater cable.

Power purchase
PNGC Power, a regional generation and transmission public electric power cooperative, has signed an agreement with Ocean Power to purchase some of the electricity generated in the second phase of the project for its northwest customers. The cooperative also provided partial funding for the first phase of the project.

The completion of the two-phase project will create more than 150 jobs in fabrication, assembly, installation and maintenance of the Reedsport power station.

The Reedsport wave project springs from Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski’s commitment to the development of wave energy as a commercially viable renewable energy source.

Mark Draper, chief executive of Ocean Power Technologies, said they have identified the Oregon Coast as one of the world’s top sources for future wave energy development.

Ocean Power is also in the advanced stages of completing its first PB150 wave device in Britain, which is scheduled for deployment in the Orkneys, Scotland in mid-2010.

Ocean Power Technologies is traded on the Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market.

Source: http://www.ecoseed.org/en/general-green-news/renewable-energy/water-power/wave-and-tidal-energy/5431