From Earlier, Ocean Power Technologies to Showcase Technology Innovation in Spain

Ocean Power Technologies OPTT is pleased to announce the launch of a new technology initiative to enhance the efficiency of the Company's patented PowerBuoy® wave energy systems under the Company's existing “WavePort” project. OPT will be working with a consortium of European companies and institutions to advance the energy conversion system of the PowerBuoy device through the development of a new wave prediction model. The new system will assess the characteristics of each incoming wave before it reaches the PowerBuoy wave power station, thereby providing more time for the electronic tuning capability to react. It is expected that this will significantly boost the power output of the PowerBuoy and reduce cost per megawatt hour of energy produced. As announced previously, OPT was awarded €2.2 million ($3.0 million) under the WavePort project, an initiative of the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research and innovation. With the commencement of efforts under the WavePort program, OPT has added these funds to its order backlog. This technology, which will be incorporated into OPT's next generation power conversion control system, will be showcased in a new PB40 PowerBuoy to be built under the WavePort project and installed at an existing mooring site at Santoña, Spain. This site was previously developed by OPT under a contract from Iberdrola, SA and other partners including Sodercan, the industrial development agency for the Cantabrian Region in northern Spain, and IDAE, the energy agency of the government of Spain. This PowerBuoy will draw on the experience gained through the development and grid connection of a PB40 in Hawaii as well as the successful in-ocean operation of OPT's first PB150 utility-scale PowerBuoy deployed in Scotland earlier this year.