The contract to build the wave energy device, named as OE Buoy, is worth $6.5m. The device will be installed at the test site located on the windward coast of the Hawaiian Island of O’ahu in the fall.
Ocean Energy USA CEO John McCarthy said: “With rigorous testing and scaling of OE Buoy over the past ten years, today’s announcement of the device being built in Oregon represents a truly major milestone for Ocean Energy.
Weighing 826 tonnes, OE Buoy, which measures 125 x 59ft with a draft of 31ft, has a power generation capacity of up to 1.25MW.
McCarthy said: “It’s the combination of Irish innovation and American manufacturing expertise and that’s always going to produce a world-class result. We are delighted to be partnering with Vigor, a renowned US marine and industrial fabrication company, who have a track record of delivering cutting edge engineering projects.”
According to Vigor, each of the deployed commercial wave energy has the potential of offsetting CO2 emissions by more than 3,600 tons annually. This, it says could amount to more than 180,000 tons of CO2 in a full year for a utility-scale wave farm of 100MW capacity.
Vigor CEO Frank Foti said: “We are thrilled to be participating in this project with Ocean Energy toward the ongoing goal of a cleaner energy future for our planet.
“This project represents a solid step forward in developing a commercially viable product to help move us in that critical direction.”
The wave energy pilot project has the backing of the US Department of Energy’s office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). It is a collaboration between the American and Irish governments in developing marine hydrokinetic technologies.
Image: Ocean Energy’s wave energy convertor OE Buoy in action. Photo: courtesy of Vigor Industrial.
