Marine energy company Ocean Power Technologies has announced that it redeployed its APB350, also known as A1, off the coast of New Jersey and resumed sea trials.
“We are encouraged by A1’s performance to date including power generation during its initial deployment, especially considering the recent rough and high sea states which resulted from Hurricane Joaquin,” said George Kirby, President and Chief Executive Officer of OPT. Three key focal points of the A1 sea trial have demonstrated considerable progress toward commercial readiness: the linear seal, which prevents water from entering the buoy; the PTO, which has showed minimal wear during the initial deployment; and the survivability of the PowerBuoy system during high sea states.”
Kirby also noted that the buoy demonstrated and communicated key meteorological data including air temperature, wind speed and direction, and atmospheric pressure using the buoy’s integrated weather station.
The company said the he A1 “demonstrated its ability to generate sufficient power at very low sea states, confirming significant PTO efficiency improvements as compared to the previous design. These improvements extend the buoy’s ability to provide required power to its payload over longer “zero wave” periods. This persistence is a critical performance requirement for potential customers of autonomous offshore power.”