OPT launches Hawaii PowerBuoy

Ocean Power Technologies' (OPT) plan to establish itself as an international marine energy powerhouse received a boost yesterday with the news that it has successfully deployed one of its PowerBuoy devices at the Marine Corps Base in Hawaii.

The company, which also announced it has been awarded an additional $380,000 (£238,000) from the Marine Corps to help fund the commissioning and in-ocean operation of the device, said that it had successfully deployed the device in 100 feet of water and begun generating power at the Kaneohe Bay site.

Data from the 40kW device in Hawaii will also be used to inform the development of OPT's next-generation 150kW utility-scale device, which plans to test at Orkney in Scotland later this year.

OPT's technology works by attaching a buoy to the ocean floor which rises and falls with the motion of the waves, driving a turbine that generates electricity. The resulting power is transmitted to land via a sub-sea cable.

The successful launch will also further cement the company's relationship with the US Navy, which could prove a lucrative customer in the future after an Executive Order required that Navy and Marine bases aim to purchase at least half their energy from renewable sources.

The move follows hot on the heels of a deal late last year to develop a 100MW wave energy farm off the coast of Oregon and will underline the company's position as a genuinely global operator.

OPT is well funded, having pulled off a $100 IPO on the Nasdaq in 2007 and currently has projects under way in the UK, New Jersey and Spain, as well as Oregon and Hawaii.