The first grid-tied wave energy device, which started feeding renewable electricity to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, is a part of 12-month testing to commercialize the technology.
NWEI founder and CEO Steve Kopf said: "As the first grid connected wave energy device in the US that will be tested and validated by an independent party, this deployment marks a major milestone for our team and the marine renewable energy industry."
Designed to generate electricity from the motion of the choppy waters, the device is developed jointly by NWEI, Callaghan Innovation, and Energy Hydraulics (EHL).
The testing is supported by the US Energy Department, the US Navy and University of Hawai’i.
The University of Hawaii will analyse and report the data to evaluate the performance of the technology. The US Energy Department and the US Navy will use the data to further the technology.
With the accumulated data, NWEI will be able to develop an accurate assessment of the technology’s levelized cost of energy (LCOE).
"We believe that independent verification of performance data is imperative to achieving commercialization," Kopf added.
