Orecon to test wave-energy conversion buoy off English coast

Orecon has raised more than $19.5 million to fund the construction and deployment of the project, its first commercial 1.5-megawatt (MW) offshore buoy, southwest of Hayle, England, in conjunction with the South West of England Regional Development Agency's Wave Hub Project.

The buoy utilizes multiple oscillating water columns that drive air turbo-generator sets. The buoys are about 40 meters in diameter and rise more than 5 meters over waves. All of the machinery is above the water. Construction of the first unit is expected to take eight months.

After the prototype is complete, Orecon expects following units to be built in about five months. Deployment is quick and depends a lot on how far the buoys are transported. The actual installation will take about three and a half days: three days to install the six anchors and another 12 hours to attach the buoy.

Construction of the first unit is expected to begin in second quarter of 2009 with deployment set for April 2010.