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TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION NEWS

New Developments in Green & Clean Tidal Hydropower Capabilities

Renewable water power has long been the source of power using water wheels and water turbines that were only partially sidelined in the 20th Century by the more convenient petroleum based power sources. However, during those years, massive amounts of electrical power was efficiently produced in the United States by large water power programs created in the 1930s and later such as the TVA or Grand Coulee Dam or smaller very local dams and water turbines driving electrical generators.

Harnessing tidal power has also long been a goal by innovative engineering thinkers. That work has steadily, and relatively quietly, continually moved forward. One successful example is the PowerBuoy(R) tidal wave power generation technology being developed by Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (OPT) based in Pennington, N.J., USA. In combination with Lockheed Martin, work is proceeding to fully develop a commercial-scale wave power generation project at Reedsport, Oregon.

According to Ocean Power Technologies, Inc., "The goal is for OPT and Lockheed Martin to jointly provide design, manufacturing, system integration and supply chain management expertise to enhance OPT's PowerBuoy(R) technology. OPT said: "This collaboration follows a $2.4 million contract awarded by the US Department of Energy (DoE) to OPT as part of US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu's initiatives announced in September 2010 to promote the development of renewable marine energy.

OPT's engineering and innovation efforts for the utility market are focused on improving power conversion efficiency, reliability, manufacturability and lowering the costs of marine operations and maintenance," said Charles F. Dunleavy, Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "We will be rolling out the PB150 PowerBuoy product, our latest utility market offering, over the next few years and will also leverage this experience for the next generation of the PowerBuoy, our 500kW device that is currently under development. Lockheed Martin's reputation and track record in manufacturing technology and its focus on renewable energy technologies will greatly assist us in this endeavor. With the Department of Energy's continued support and Lockheed Martin's expertise, the commercialization of our technologies to harness wave power continues to make steady progress.

Construction of the Oregon PB150 PowerBuoy's steel structure has been completed, and testing of the advanced power take-off and control system is in process at OPT's production facility in a test environment simulating the varying wave conditions that exist off the Oregon coast. Assembly, systems integration, and land testing of the PowerBuoy is planned to occur over the next several months. It is intended to be the first of a proposed 10-buoy wave power station with a peak generating capacity of 1.5 MW, equivalent to the power needs of about 1,500 homes.

Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. 15 years of in-ocean experience is a pioneer in wave energy technology that harnesses ocean wave resources to generate reliable, clean and environmentally-beneficial electricity. OPT has a strong track record in the advancement of wave energy, and participates in an estimated $150 billion annual power generation equipment market. OPT's proprietary PowerBuoy(R) system is based on modular, ocean-going buoys that capture and convert predictable wave energy into clean electricity."

Generating New Plans for Hydropower Facilities

In the United States, an additional one Million megewatt hours of electricity production annually is possible by expansions at 70 existing hydroelectric facilities according to the U.S. Department of the Interior. Currently, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation is the largest wholesale water supplier and the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States, with operations and facilities in the 17 Western States. Its 58 power plants annually produce, on average, 40 Billion kilowatt-hours per year, enough to meet the needs of 9 million people. Anne Castle, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, explained that "adding hydropower capability at existing Reclamation facilities is a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable way to build our clean energy economy. We can increase our renewable hydropower output without building new dams."

In Germany, studies by the State of Thuringia have identified 13 sites including three existing dams that would be suitable for new pumped storage-facilities potentially producing 5,130 megawatts of electricity. The existing Schmalwasser Dam in Thuringia is the most likely initial site that could generate 400 megawatts of power. The existing dam's water storage reservoir would become the pumped-storage system's lower reservoir connected to a new upper reservoir with a underground tunnel system. Those facilities and their associated pump facility and power generation building would cost approximately 500 million euro (USD 666.2 million) and could be in service in 2019.

The 12 other sites in Thuringia have no detailed plans for construction at this time. Three of those proposed pumped-storage sites could potentially produce a total of 2,100 megawatts of electric power. According to Matthias Machnig, Thuringia's economy minister, the proposed pumped-storage facilities are a "great opportunity for climate protection" in addition to business and employment growth. However, due to the high investment costs, extensive planning required and gaining necessary approvals, they all represent long term programs.