A $2.0 million award from the US Department of Energy in support of Ocean Power Technologies’ wave power project in Reedsport, Oregon has been announced today (2nd October). The grant will be used to help fund the fabrication, assembly and factory testing of the first PowerBuoy to be installed at the Reedsport site. This system will be a 150 kilowatt-rated PB150 PowerBuoy, major portions of which will be fabricated and integrated in Oregon.

Speaking following the announcement Dr. George Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of OPT, said: "We are very pleased to receive this award from the US Department of Energy in support of our Reedsport, Oregon project. In line with recent recognition by the US Congress of ocean wave energy’s importance in the renewable energy sector, this award provides important support to the construction of our first 150 kW PowerBuoy to be deployed in the US. We also appreciate the support of the Oregon Congressional delegation in sponsorship of this award."

Installation of the first PB150 PowerBuoy is the initial phase of OPT’s project to install ten PB150 PowerBuoy systems generating a total of 1.5 MW at a site approximately 2.5 miles off the coast near Reedsport. The first unit is expected to be ready for deployment in the second half of 2009. This will be followed by the manufacture and installation of the additional nine PB150 PowerBuoys, expected to commence in 2010 after receipt of FERC permitting.

When completed and grid-connected, OPT will realize revenues from the sale of energy to the grid. In addition, the ten-PowerBuoy wave power station will provide important operating and environmental data for the future development of wave energy on the Oregon and the US west coast and is expected to be the largest installation of its kind in the US.

PNGC Power, a Portland, Oregon-based electric power cooperative, has also provided funding toward the Reedsport project, and is supporting OPT in other aspects of the development of the project. This includes providing its grid interconnection expertise, as well as its experience in meeting the standards of the Bonneville Power Administration, which operates much of the region’s power system.