Leading wave energy technology company Ocean Power Technologies has entered into an agreement with Lockheed Martin with the goal of developing a 19 MW wave-energy project in Portland, in the state of Victoria, Australia. This is one of the largest wave-energy projects announced to date, and is being supported by a grant from the Australian government.
For this project, Lockheed Martin will assist with the design of OPT’s PowerBuoy technology, lead the production and system integration of the wave-energy converters and support overall program management. Lockheed Martin and OPT have been collaborating since 2004, first on the development of an ‘Advanced Deployable System’ for the US Navy and most recently in designing and launching utility-scale wave energy converters off the coast of Reedsport, Oregon.
According to the World Energy Council, wave energy has the potential to produce around 2000 TWh/year of electricity. In Australia, which has large wave energy resources, this percentage could be significantly higher.
Charles F. Dunleavy, Chief Executive Officer of OPT, said, “Lockheed Martin’s commitment to alternative energy and its engineering, production, and systems integration expertise will provide momentum to our Australia initiatives, where both companies see great potential for large-scale wave energy generation. We also appreciate the Commonwealth government’s continued support of this project, which we expect to create a significant number of local jobs as we develop and maintain operations over the life of the power station.”
Funding for the project also includes a previously announced grant of A$66.5 million ($65.3 million USD) from Australia’s Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. The project is to be developed by a special purpose Australian company, Victorian Wave Partners Pty Ltd, currently owned by Ocean Power Technologies (Australasia) Pty Ltd. The partners are assessing financing opportunities for the project and pursuing power purchase agreements with local industry and utilities.
