Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. has received a US$2.6 million contract from Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.
The contract is to provide the final design and supply of key components of a PowerBuoy system intended for deployment off the coast of Japan to demonstrate its utility application in local sea conditions.
This follows work performed under a previously-announced contract for preliminary development and design work completed earlier this year.
In addition, the new contract is provided under the agreement which OPT and MES announced earlier this month for their cooperation on PowerBuoy development and commercialization in Japan and six other international markets.
Under the latest contract, OPT will work with MES to finalize and test the design of the spar, the PowerBuoy's main structural element, which is to be fabricated in Japan by MES.
Also, OPT will design and supply the power take-off (PTO), the component containing a PowerBuoy's generator and electronics systems.
Optimized for Japanese wave conditions, the PowerBuoy, when completed, is expected to be suitable for ocean trials to demonstrate the potential for commercial-scale utility wave power stations in Japan.
This latest contracted work is expected to be completed in March 2015, after which deployment and ocean operation are planned as a separate phase to occur soon thereafter.
Other elements of the project to be supplied and managed by MES include moorings and deployment.
Japan's rnvironment minister has said that Japan's strategy is to increase the present generating capacity of renewable energy in Japan by more than six times.
The Japanese government specifically identified wave energy as a component of this policy, setting a goal of 1500 MW in new power generation capacity by 2030, using wave and tidal power sources.
OPT is headquartered in Pennington, New Jersey, USA with an office in Warwick, UK, and operations in Melbourne and Perth, Australia.
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