Funding secured for US wave energy study
8 Nov 10
The Oregon Wave Energy Trust (OWET) has awarded our US
subsidiary, Aquamarine Power USA LLC, a matching grant to look at
the potential for using wave energy to produce clean, sustainable
electricity along Oregon's coastline.
The $50,000 grant will pay for a feasibility study into the
potential for installation of our Oyster wave energy technology off
the coast in the service areas of Central Lincoln People's Utility
District and/or Tillamook People's Utility District. The
grant is intended to help deploy Acoustic Doppler Current Profile
(ADCP) devices that measure and record the frequency, intensity and
height of waves as they approach the Oregon shoreline. We will be
searching for local vessels to deploy the devices.
Aquamarine Power USA was one of four companies to be awarded a
grant by OWET under its OWET Industry Matching Program.
Reaching out to local communities
For the past four months, our Oregon-based team has been
reaching out to local communities seeking local stakeholders' views
on the most suitable locations for potential sites to install
arrays of our Oyster hydro-electric wave energy technology.
We will continue our outreach programme after the ADCPs have been
deployed.
Our USA office is based in Newport, Oregon, and is headed up by
John Fedorko, who joined our team in 2009 from the wind energy
industry. Lincoln County resident Theresa Wisner has also
joined us as our community outreach coordinator as part of our
strong commitment to supporting local communities. We hired Theresa
because of her experience on commercial fishing and research
vessels, along with her skills in community outreach and
education.
On receiving the grant from OWET, John Fedorko, Director of
Aquamarine Power USA LLC said:
"We are very honoured and excited to receive this matching grant
from OWET. These crucial funds will allow us to study and
record Oregon's immense wave power potential, and will help us with
one of the most important items in the development process:
proving the wave resource at a given site.
Bringing wave power to Oregon
"We see this as a strategic first step in bringing utility-scale
wave power to Oregon, and we thank OWET and their partners at the
Oregon Innovation Council for believing in our proposed study plan,
our Oyster wave energy device and our people. Oregon has a
great wave resource, but it also has a great environment for doing
business."
Jason Busch, Executive Director of the Oregon Wave Energy Trust,
said:
"These feasibility grants have been awarded to companies with
proven technology to help develop projects and make wave energy
technology more efficient, longer lasting and cheaper.
"Providing match funding is key to spurring the wave energy
sector's growth as the industry looks to other coastal states as a
possible anchor."