Friday, 15/11/2024 | 10:44 GMT+7
Last year, the Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) company has developed a tidal power generator that has now been connected to the energy grid at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii as part of the firm’s program with the US Navy to test wave energy technology, giving the US their the first-ever grid connection for a wave energy device.
Dubbed PowerBuoy, the generator uses the up-and-down swell and fall of the ocean to produce clean electricity. “Grid connection is another significant milestone in demonstrating the potential for commercial status of our PowerBuoy technology,” said OPT’s CEO Charles F. Dunleavy.
The PowerBuoy was first deployed three-quarters of a mile off the Oahu coast in December 2009. Until now, the device operated about 4,400 hours, producing energy from more than 3 million power take-off cycles.
If all goes well with the new generator, we can expect more wave power devices to be installed in the United States. Meanwhile, Ocean Power Technologies wants to begin construction of a utility-scale tidal farm in Oregon.
greenoptimistic.com