On 10 December the U.S. Navy test site located in Oahu, Hawaii welcomed the Irish wave energy device, named as “Ocean Energy 35” (0E35). Specifically, the OE35 will be further connected to the local electrical grid.
Before the scheduled buoy’s installation and testing off shore of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the power generator took part in a customary traditional Hawaiian Blessing.
At the moment, the wave power generator OE35 is on an undergoing testing at the test site. If everything goes by the book, after the installation the OE35 will be considered as the largest capacity wave energy device ever installed.
The adaption of the OE35 buoy aligns with the Navy’s efforts outlined in our strategic design initiative to maximize naval shore readiness through focusing on maritime operations, product performance and energy security.
…noted Kail Macias, NAVFAC EXWC technical director.
Moreover, the OE35 was created to collect energy by pumping air via a turbine mounted above the water, with no moving parts below the surface. Weighting about 826 tons, the oversized buoy was manufactured by Vigor Technologies in Portland, Oregon and afterwards moved to the U.S. Navy Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) in Hawaii.
For the records, the project is part of the U.S. Department of Energy and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s funds and its value estimated around $12 million.
The United States Navy is excited to work alongside DOE’s Water Power Program in supporting this first grid-connected test of an oscillating water column buoy at the Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site here in Oahu.
…Kail Macias concluded.
