Neptune Wave Power announced that it had recently signed an agreement with Oregon State University to evaluate and test its patented technology at the O. H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory. Neptune Wave Power has developed patented technology that will produce cost-effective commercial quantities of electric power using a generation system harnessing kinetic energy from ocean waves.  The generation cost compares favorably not only with that of other generation systems such as wind power or alternative proposed wave energy capturing devices, but with many other conventional power sources as well. Oregon State University is the leading authority on wave energy and part of the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (‘NNMREC’).  NNMREC serves as an integrated, standardized test center for U.S. and international developers of wave and tidal energy.

“Being able to work with the NNMREC and Oregon State University, the leading experts in wave energy research in the United States, is a great opportunity for Neptune,” said Rene Larrave, CEO of Neptune Wave Power. “Leveraging their technology and expertise to further refine our technology as we begin to deploy around the world is invaluable for our commercialization and risk mitigation efforts.”

The National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC), established in 2008, is a partnership between Oregon State University (OSU) and the University of Washington (UW) to support wave and tidal energy development for the United States.  NNMREC has a full range of capabilities and is structured to support baseline studies, on-going monitoring, and setting the technical, ecological, and human dimensions standards for wave energy projects.  The NNMREC also facilitate device commercialization through development of standards for validation and evaluation of devices.

WIND & WAVES: ENERGY

Carbon Trust provides £350,000 grant for first seagoing trials of innovative tidal energy device Tidal energy device developer Minesto UK Ltd is receiving a grant of up to £350,000 from the Carbon Trust funded by Invest Northern Ireland to deploy the first seagoing prototype of its innovative seakite technology – ‘Deep Green’. The device works like a kite, tethered to the seabed, which flies through the sea current carrying a turbine. If trials are successful, Minesto plans to deploy enough devices around the UK’s coastline to generate up to 530GWh a year by 2020, enough to power the annual electricity needs for all households in a city approximately the size of Newcastle.

The radically new concept can operate inCarbon Trust provides £350,000 grant for first seagoing trials of innovative tidal energy device Tidal energy device developer Minesto UK Ltd is receiving a grant of up to £350,000 from the Carbon Trust funded by Invest Northern Ireland to deploy the first seagoing prototype of its innovative seakite technology – ‘Deep Green’. The device works like a kite, tethered to the seabed, which flies through the sea current carrying a turbine. If trials are successful, Minesto plans to deploy enough devices around the UK’s coastline to generate up to 530GWh a year by 2020, enough to power the annual electricity needs for all households in a city approximately the size of Newcastle.

Benj Sykes, Director of Innovations at the Carbon Trust, said: “The UK boasts some of the best tidal resources in the world and we are focussed on bringing down the cost of extracting that energy. Minesto’s Deep Green is a very exciting technology as it could provide a step change reduction in the cost of tidal energy and open up swathes of the UK’s coast to generating electricity. Tidal energy has the potential to produce up to 18 terawatt hours ofelectricity, equivalent to over 5% of the UK’s electricity consumption.”

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