Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. has built an upgrade of its utility-scale PowerBuoy device called the PB150 which they intend to be the forerunner for their future energy generation projects.
The PB150 PowerBuoy built and assembled in Invergordon, Scotland has a power output of 150 kilowatts, enough for the energy consumption of approximately 150 homes.
The offshore wave energy device can generate power from wave heights between 1.5 and 7 meters. The rising and falling of the waves off shore causes the buoy to move freely up and down and this movement drives the piston and thus generates power.
PB150 stands at a height of 35 meters. Only the buoy measuring 8.9 meters in height is seen on the surface of the water. The New Jersey-based company said its design is suitable for different wave climates, functioning even under various combinations of storm, tidal and current conditions.
The PB150 device is used with the company’s patent-pending Underwater Substation Pod which can connect up to 10 of the wave energy devices into a single transmission cable to shore.
The company said this setup can minimize the costs of submarine transmission cables to the shore-based interconnection. The substation can reportedly be used in depths as far as 50 meters below and can be installed in almost all seabed bottom conditions.
Preparations for the ocean trial of PB150 are underway. The device will be tested off Scotland’s northeast coast, 53.11 nautical kilometers from Invergordon.
As soon as weather conditions permit, it will be towed to the test site and installed. The device’s structure and mooring system to the waves as well as the power produced will be examined.
After its trial, the company will be seeking additional financing for the buoy’s commercial use and deployment.
Currently, a second PB150 is under construction in the United States for a utility-scale project in Oregon. In addition, the company is working with Australia, Japan and Europe in projects that may use the new device.
Ocean Power started operations in 1994. It is listed on the Nasdaq in 2007, with shares now hovering at $5 apiece.
