Ocean Powered Technologies
Ocean Powered Technologies
The Group's principal activity is to develop and is commercializing proprietary systems that generate electricity by harnessing the renewable energy of ocean waves.
George Taylor is the CEO of the company. He first saw the potential of wave energy as a young Australian Surfer. As a young engineer in New Jersey he faced the energy crisis of the 70s and became determined to find a way to convert wave energy into electricity. At 74 years old, his dream is finally realized. "It's a great thing when you've spent a great part of your career doing something good for the world, good for your children, good for your grandchildren," said Taylor.
Ocean Powered Technologies is the first company to commercialize wave energy. They have designed massive buoys that bob in the ocean with the waves. A piston sliding up and down in the buoy generates the energy and a complex computer system inside converts it into an endless source of electricity. The source is endless because unlike other sources like oil or fossil fuels, waves are there continuously.
The Group's principal activity is to develop and is commercializing proprietary systems that generate electricity by harnessing the renewable energy of ocean waves.
- It markets and sells its products in the United States and internationally.
- The Group currently offers two products as part of its line of PowerBuoy(R) systems: a utility PowerBuoy system and an autonomous PowerBuoy system.
- Its PowerBuoy system is based on modular, ocean-going buoys, which it has been ocean testing for over a decade.
- Its utility PowerBuoy system is capable of supplying electricity to a local or regional electric power grid.
- Its autonomous PowerBuoy system is designed to generate power for use independent of the power grid in remote locations.
- The Group operates in North America
George Taylor is the CEO of the company. He first saw the potential of wave energy as a young Australian Surfer. As a young engineer in New Jersey he faced the energy crisis of the 70s and became determined to find a way to convert wave energy into electricity. At 74 years old, his dream is finally realized. "It's a great thing when you've spent a great part of your career doing something good for the world, good for your children, good for your grandchildren," said Taylor.
Ocean Powered Technologies is the first company to commercialize wave energy. They have designed massive buoys that bob in the ocean with the waves. A piston sliding up and down in the buoy generates the energy and a complex computer system inside converts it into an endless source of electricity. The source is endless because unlike other sources like oil or fossil fuels, waves are there continuously.
- One buoy can power about 150 homes, and that's why they are developing wave parks with hundreds of buoys.
- Cables dropped from the bottom run to shore where they plug into a power grid. The first wave park to power a city was just deployed off the coast of Spain.
- The buoys have to be within 3 miles of the shore to work, but since they are mostly submerged, they are hardly noticeable from the beach.
- Studies have shown it's safe to underwater life, has no harmful emissions, and is noiseless.
George Taylor points out that the technology isn't only better for our environment but it will also benefit us economically. He predicts that within three years wave energy will be half the cost of the energy generated in regular fossil fuel plants.
Add solar and wind energy to the mix, and the wave of the future might just wash away our dependence on fossil fuels, and certainly alleviate the oil burden
For more specific information on Ocean Power Technologies, which is also now publicly traded as OPTT, you can go to their website: http://www.oceanpowertechnologies.com/
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