Ocean Power Technologies wins grant for work in Cornwall

Jul 30 2010 by Graeme Brown, Birmingham Post

The Warwick-based subsidiary of a US tidal energy firm has been awarded a £1.5 million grant to develop its technology at a major wave energy farm in Cornwall.

Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) has been given the grant by the South West of England Regional Development Agency for the development of its next generation 500kW PowerBuoy wave power system.

OPT is the first company to commit to participate in Wave Hub, a £42 million wave energy farm now under construction by South West of England Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) in Cornwall.

With the new award, OPT will lead a project to accelerate the development of the technology for a larger version of its utility-scale PowerBuoy for use at the Wave Hub.

The collaboration between OPT, A&P Falmouth and the Peninsula Research Institute for Marine Renewable Energy, which is a collaboration between the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, will contribute to the scale-up of OPT’s existing 150kW to 500kW PowerBuoy as well as improve reliability and performance of the PowerBuoy. 

Angus Norman, chief executive of Ocean Power Technologies, said: “This award is a mark of the commitment and strong relationships among OPT, its partners and SWRDA to establish the South West of England as one of the world’s leading centres for marine energy with the Wave Hub as its focal point.

“It will enable OPT to accelerate the development of its next generation PowerBuoy, which we believe will be competitive in large production volumes with fossil fuel-based energy.

“It also will help to boost Britain’s renewable sector in the long term.”

This is the second award to OPT in connection with its PB500.

In April 2010, OPT was awarded $1.5 million from the US Department of Energy towards the development of OPT’s next generation PowerBuoy wave power system.