Vigor to Build Ocean Energy’s Wave Energy Convertor

Oregon‐based Vigor has secured a contract to build Ocean Energy’s wave energy convertor ‘OE Buoy’.

Irish-based Ocean Energy will deploy the device at the US Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site off the Hawaiian Island of O’ahu in the fall of 2018.

The contract value is $6.5 million out of a total project value of $12 million, the company informed.

Wave energy has a market potential of over $18 billion to Ireland’s economy by 2050. Similarly, the US has a substantial wave energy resource, which could deliver up to 15 percent of its annual electricity demand.

In Oregon, the estimated potential value to the local economy is $2.4 billion per annum with an associated 13,630 jobs.

The 826‐ton OE Buoy measures 125 x 59 feet with a draft of 31 feet and has a potential rated capacity of up to 1.25 MW in electrical power production.

Vigor CEO, Frank Foti, said: “We are thrilled to be participating in this project with Ocean Energy toward the ongoing goal of a cleaner energy future for our planet. This project represents a solid step forward in developing a commercially viable product to help move us in that critical direction.”

“With rigorous testing and scaling of OE Buoy over the past ten years, today’s announcement of the device being built in Oregon represents a truly major milestone for Ocean Energy,” said John McCarthy, Ocean Energy USA chief executive officer.

The $12 million project is part‐funded by the US Department of Energy’s office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), under an agreement committing the American and Irish governments to collaborating on marine hydrokinetic technologies.