The first licence to be issued for a wave power station in the United States has been awarded to Ocean Power Technologies Inc. which has announced that its wholly-owned Oregon subsidiary, Reedsport OPT Wave Park, LLC, has received approval for the full build-out of its planned 1.5 MW grid-connected wave power station off Reedsport, Oregon.
This achieves an important regulatory stage for the deployment of up to ten OPT PowerBuoy devices. Construction of the initial PowerBuoy is nearing completion and it is expected to be ready for deployment about 2.5 miles off the Reedsport coast later this year. OPT has received funding for this first system from the U.S. Department of Energy, with the support of the Oregon Congressional delegation, and from PNGC Power, an Oregon-based electric power cooperative.
Specifically, FERC has granted a 35-year license for grid-connected, wave energy production. This follows an extensive process of environment assessment, notifications to the public, assessment of Federal and State regulations, and consideration of a broad array of comments, recommendations and terms and conditions.
Charles F. Dunleavy, chief executive officer of OPT, stated "The issuance of this licence by FERC is an important milestone for the U.S. wave energy industry as well as for OPT. It represents the culmination of thorough due diligence and consideration of input from a broad array of groups interested in our Reedsport project. The 35-year term of the license demonstrates the commercial potential of wave power, and this will support initiatives to secure financing for the project."
After the initial PowerBuoy is deployed, OPT plans to construct the balance of the wave power station, consisting of up to nine additional PowerBuoys and grid connection infrastructure, subject to receipt of additional funding and all necessary regulatory approvals.
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