OPT PowerBuoy Now Available in the Oil and Gas Sector

Ocean Power Technologies Ltd. (OPT), a supplier of moored floating buoys that harvest energy from waves, announced that it has chosen Offshore Europe to launch its PowerBuoy technology into the global oil and gas sector.

Already demonstrated in the defense, renewables and utilities sectors, the PowerBuoy is capable of delivering energy from a few kilowatts (kW)to several 100 kW, and has been successfully deployed in Hawaii, U.K. and New Jersey. 

The PowerBuoy moves freely up and down with the rise and fall of waves. The resultant mechanical stroking is converted via a sophisticated power take-off to drive an electrical generator. This power is then transmitted to external equipment via an underwater power cable, or direct to a payload integrated into the buoy’s structure.

Tim Stiven, Managing Director of Ocean Power Technologies Ltd., said, ”At OPT we have broad experience in developing products for applications that work across industry boundaries. Having successfully transferred the PowerBuoy from renewables to the defense sector, we are confident, as a result of engagement with a number of representatives from the oil and gas sector, that our technology has the potential to redefine how power is generated and used offshore.”

According to OPT, potential applications for the PowerBuoy include UUV garages for permanent infield monitoring and inspection of assets, diesel replacement for energy generation on oil and gas platforms, the control of electric trees for CO2 / water field injection, environmental monitoring for pre-post deployment, real-time on site field monitoring / sensing systems for 4D reservoir analysis and pre- and post-deployment surveys, security cordons for offshore developments and  temporary navigational markers for surface and submerged structures.

oceanpowertechnologies.com