Good buoy

Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) has awarded a contract for the steel fabrication of its PB150 PowerBuoy structure to Inverness-based engineering group, Isleburn.

According to OPT, this latest contract, combined with the completion of the PB150’s power take-off system, will allow its PB150 wave energy converter to be ready for deployment at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Scotland by the end of the year.

Mark Draper, chief executive of OPT, said: ‘These two milestones demonstrate significant progress towards the deployment of OPT's first PB150. This achievement represents a pivotal stage in the company's development and that we are on track to achieve our objective of utilising wave power as an economically viable source of renewable energy.’

The company's PowerBuoy system is based on modular, ocean-going buoys that capture and convert wave energy into clean electricity. Once installed at the EMEC, the group hopes to deploy 150kW PB150 PowerBuoys in locations including the US, Australia and the UK.

Jim Mather, Scotland's minister for enterprise, energy and tourism, said: ‘Scotland boasts a quarter of Europe's wave and tidal resource and we are leading the way in developing marine renewables through the world's only accredited wave and tidal testing centre, the EMEC in Orkney.

‘I am delighted that Scottish government support is helping to advance the in-ocean demonstration of what will be the world's largest wave-energy device using buoy technology. This is just one example of the huge economic potential that making Scotland a world leader in renewables can bring.’