North America

Marine Hydrokinetics

News related to the marine hydrokinetics industry in North America for October 2014
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TSB, OERA announce funding for tidal technology development

The U.K. Technology Strategy Board and Nova Scotia’s Offshore Energy Research Association have announced their plan to jointly invest about US$1.25 million to accelerate tidal energy development.

The financing deal is the result of a memorandum of understanding http://www.hydroworld.com/articles/2014/03/canadian-uk-groups-sign-mou-for-tidal-energy-technology-development.html signed in March that targets improvements that could be used to further the equipment required to produce energy in high-tide areas like http://www.hydroworld.com/articles/2013/12/developers-lay-subssea-data-cable-at-tidal-energy-research-center.html Canada’s Bay of Fundy — or specifically, advancing environmental monitoring, sensing and instrumentation technologies. The proposals must be “business-led and collaborative with representation from both Canada and the UK,” with partners to “attract up to 50% public funding for costs, or 60% for small to medium-sized enterprises.”

The call for applications runs through Nov. 28. Interested parties can submit a registration form at https://adobeformscentral.com/?f=Jj0i0PZOnEhhQ4oCAc-Vsg#.

Wave device to be tested off Oregon coast

According to a story by news provider KATU.com, m3 Wave LLC was scheduled to deploy its DMP wave-energy device off the coast of Oregon in late August.

This technology sits on the bottom of the ocean and will use wave motion to inflate and deflate air-filled bags, with the air flow turning a turbine to generate electricity. The 1/5th scale device weighs 5,000 pounds, is 30 feet long and 8.5 feet wide, and will be deployed at Camp Rilea near Astoria in 40 to 45 feet of water about 1 mile offshore.

The deployment is scheduled to last about three weeks, which will provide data regarding performance and how the technology handles the harsh ocean environment. Parameters to be measured include the amount of electricity generated, sediment levels and device shifting.

A 1/6th-scale model was tested at Oregon State University in 2011. A full-scale device should have a capacity of 100 to 150 kW.

Manitoba university testing hydrokinetic technologies

The University of Manitoba is testing new technology at its Canadian Hydrokinetic Turbine Test Centre.

This center, near Seven Sisters, was designed to allow testing of portable turbines that work in rivers. Its focus is on water-to-wire systems, with a goal of improving safety, reducing costs, simplifying deployment/retrieval, and identifying and reducing maintenance issues. The center was built to help Canadian industry develop this renewable energy technology for Canadian and international markets. The test facility itself is located at 8-Foot Falls.

Jupiter Hydro recently began testing its coil turbine technology at the site. The technology is based on the helical turbine or Archimedes screw and uses faster-running surface flows to generate power

Other companies that have partnered with the center include Clean Current Power Systems, New Energy Corp., Mavi Innovations Inc. and Manitoba Hydro.

OPT announces third quarter results, staff change

Ocean Power Technologies Inc. released financial results for its fiscal 2014 fourth quarter and full year ended April 30, 2014. Revenue for the quarter was $400,000, unchanged from the prior-year period. The company had revenue of $1.5 million in fiscal 2014, compared with $3.6 million in fiscal 2013.

Recently the company announced the termination of its project in Reedsport, Ore., and the one being developed in Australia by Victorian Wave Partners Pty Ltd. The company has deferred deployment of its WavePort project in the European Union into calendar year 2015. And several design modifications are needed to the company’s APB-350 Autonomous PowerBuoy, based on results from the summer 2013 deployment. “Taken as a whole, these results indicate that our basic technology needs further advancement before we commit to large-scale utility projects with typical commercial risk-sharing,” said David L. Keller, interim chief executive officer of OPT.

Victorian Wave Partners tendered a notice to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency in July of its intent to terminate the Renewable Energy Demonstration Program Funding Deed dated September 2010 and amended in January 2014. The company announced it has shifted its focus to smaller-scale devices, such as the PB-40 and the utility scale PowerBuoy.

In addition, Charles F. Dunleavy, former CEO and chairman of the board of directors, was terminated effective June 9. Keller, non-executive director of the company since October 2013, is interim CEO while OPT searches for a replacement.

OPT also said the board of directors had appointed a committee to conduct an internal investigation into the agreement between Victorian Wave Partners and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, as well as related public statements concerning that project.

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