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Ocean Power Technologies gets $66.5m grant for wave power station off Victorian coast
A WAVE power electricity generation project being established at Portland, Victoria, has won a $66.5 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
Developer of the $232 million project, Ocean Power Technologies, Inc, which is listed on the Nasdaq (OPTT) exchange, announced that its wholly-owned entity Victorian Wave Partners Pty Ltd (VWP) would use the grant towards the cost of building and deploying a 62.5MW peak-rated wave power station off the coast of Portland, Victoria. The project is expected to power up to 10,000 homes.
The Victorian Wave Partners and ARENA also announced milestones for each of the three stages of the project, acceleration of reimbursement of eligible expenses for stages one and two, and an increase in the number of milestones to better support project cash flow requirements.
The agreement also recognised the role of Lockheed Martin as the lead for systems integration of the plant’s PowerBuoys and overall program management.
"We are very grateful for the support of the Australian Government and ARENA during this process to make positive changes to the original funding deed,” said Ocean Power Technologies CEO Charles F. Dunleavy.
“This new agreement significantly improves our ability to attract investors during the early stages of the project.
“We are also pleased to offer the prospect of manufacturing, engineering and maritime jobs in Victoria based on OPT’s unique and game-changing technology, at a time when more traditional manufacturing jobs are experiencing enhanced competitive pressures.
“We have been impressed with the commercial and results-oriented way in which ARENA has worked with us after assuming responsibility for a wide range of projects and programs last year."
ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the organisation was pleased to support development of the VWP demonstration project.
“It aligns with our vision of a society increasingly powered by competitive renewable energy as well as our commitment to sharing knowledge and information about our projects with the industry," Mr Frischknecht said.
VWP was awarded the grant by the Australian Government through a competitive process undertaken as part of the Renewable Energy Demonstration Program, which is administered by ARENA. The funding deed for the project sets out the terms of the grant including the requirement to obtain significant additional funding.
The planned Portland wave power station has a total project value of $232 million, and at completion would be the largest of its kind in the world.
With 28 PowerBuoys connected to the grid by an underwater substation and a submarine cable the plant would be capable of providing power for up to 10,000 homes.
The project is being developed by VWP, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ocean Power Technologies Australasia Pty Ltd (OPTA), which is an Australian company 88 percent owned by OPT and the remainder by Woodside Energy Ltd. Woodside is Australia’s largest independently-owned coal and gas company.
Since the original announcement of the grant, VWP has completed engineering milestones and conducted surveys and studies to meet the requirements for licences and approvals. In addition, the company is currently assessing power purchase agreements with local industry and utilities.
"Wave energy has enormous potential and it is fantastic that Portland has been chosen as the site for this renewable energy project,” said the region’s Federal Member for Wannon, Dan Tehan.
The Ocean Power Technologies group’s proprietary PowerBuoy system is based on modular, ocean-going buoys that capture and convert predictable wave energy into clean electricity.
Ocean Power Technologies is widely recognised as a leading developer of on-grid and autonomous wave-energy generation systems, benefiting from over 15 years of in-ocean experience. Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. is headquartered in Pennington, New Jersey, USA. Ocean Power Technologies (Australasia) Pty Ltd has operations in Melbourne and Perth and Ocean Power Technologies Ltd is based in Warwick, UK.
ARENA was established by the Australian Government as an independent authority on July 1, 2012, to make renewable energy technologies more affordable and increase the amount of renewable energy used in Australia. ARENA is funded out to 2022 to invest in renewable energy projects, support research and development activities, and increase industry and community knowledge about renewable energy.
http://www.oceanpowertechnologies.com/
http://www.optaustralasia.com.au/
http://www.victorianwaveproject.com.au/
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