HONOLULU, July 25,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Marine hydrokinetics pioneer,
Ocean Energy USA LLC (part of
Ocean Energy Group Ireland – https://oceanenergy.ie/ ), today
announced that it has successfully deployed its 826-ton wave energy
convertor buoy, the OE-35, at the US Navy's Wave Energy Test Site
(WETS) on the windward coast of the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. After commissioning and testing onsite,
the device will be connected to the Hawaiian electricity grid by
subsea cable in the coming weeks.
The utility-scale wave energy device measures 125 x 59 feet, has
a draft of over 30 feet, and a potential rated capacity of up to
1.25 megawatts in electrical power production. It is located north
of Mōkapu Peninsula, at the WETS site in Kaneohe Bay, having been
towed there from Honolulu on
Friday, July 19. The US$12million project is part‐funded by the US
Department of Energy's office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), under an agreement committing
the US and Irish governments to collaborating on marine
hydrokinetic technologies.
"Following over a decade and a half of design, trials, testing
and building, we are excited finally to be able to take this major
step towards commercialization with our world-class OE-35 device,"
said Professor Tony Lewis, Ocean
Energy's Chief Technology Officer. "This internationally
significant project couldn't come online at a more critical time
for the US and Ireland as the
World needs to accelerate the pace of decarbonization with new and
innovative technologies."
About Ocean Energy Group
Ocean Energy USA LLC is a wholly
owned subsidiary of the Ocean Energy Group that is actively
pursuing opportunities in the US market. Marine renewables
represent a market space that is relatively small at present but is
expected to grow rapidly over the coming decade. The opportunity
for marine energy is that it can meet a significant percentage of
the global energy demand which would represent a market of over
US$50 billion a year in electricity
sales alone. Globally, wave power could meet up to 10% of the
World's electric energy needs.
Media Assets (photography and
video):
https://oceanenergy.ie/hawaii-press-gallery/
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/irish-wave-energy-pioneer-deploys-worlds-first-electricity-grid-scale-device-at-us-navy-test-site-in-hawaii-302206828.html
SOURCE Ocean Energy USA LLC