September 04, 07
AquaBuOY Wave Energy Converter to test off Oregon Shore

Finavera Renewables Inc. recently completed construction of the AquaBuOY 2.0 wave energy converter, which is being prepared for transport to Newport, Oregon, where it will be deployed for ocean testing this week.

Denis Letourneau, Finavera Renewables' VP Engineering said, "today is an exciting day as it marks the transition from construction to deployment. Over the last two and a half months, our engineers and fabricators have put in long hours to ensure this cutting edge technology was built to exacting specifications. We have completed various systems tests on the device, and the AquaBuOY 2.0 wave energy converter is now ready for ocean testing."

Construction of the AquaBuOY 2.0 began in early May 2007 at Oregon Iron Works, Inc. in Portland, Oregon. Once deployed 2 miles off the coast of Newport, Finavera Renewables will monitor the output of the hose pump technology and other components to determine the device's potential for electricity generation. All onboard diagnostic equipment will be powered by the device itself, with solar panels, and small wind turbines installed on the device providing secondary electricity generation.

Information will be streamed live to Finavera via wireless and satellite technology in order to gather and analyze the data.

Finavera Renewables CEO Jason Bak said, "our next step is to deploy the device and validate our cost and output projections. That testing will lead to the development of our next generation wave energy converter, as our goal is to optimize our technology for cost effective electricity generation from the energy in the ocean. The completion of construction and imminent deployment bring us closer to that goal.