Cork company making waves with new deal

Cork-based company Ocean Energy Ltd closed a landmark deal this week to provide a multi-million euro device for the world’s largest offshore marine energy test site off the Cornwall coast. After three years of testing a quarter-scale prototype for the device in Galway Bay, Ocean Energy Ltd expects to deploy the €9m full size Ocean Energy (OE) Buoy at the Wave Hub site by the end of 2012. The OE Buoy has the capacity to generate sustainable energy that will power up to 1,200 homes.

Ocean Energy, with its technology partner, oil and gas provider Dresser-Rand, was among several companies bidding for the contract, which provides for funding Ocean Energy’s deployment costs up to a maximum of €1.2m, including the cost of securing a marine licence and installation of moorings and deployment.

The device was developed with the assistance of Irish government funding and expertise at the Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre in University College, Cork.

Ocean Energy chief executive John McCarthy said the deal was a “major achievement for Irish technology”, and added that the rigorous testing to which the device was subjected had been key to winning the contract. “Ireland, with its resources and technical capabilities, has the potential to become the world leader in wave energy and Ocean Energy plans to play its part in making this a reality,” he said.