Lockheed Martin wins contract to build wave energy project in Australia

Lockheed Martin has secured a contract from Victorian Wave Partners to start building a 62.5MW wave energy project off the coast of Victoria, Australia.

Under the terms of the contract, the project will be developed in three stages using the PowerBuoy wave energy converter technology of Ocean Power Technologies (OPT).

The project’s first stage will produce 2.5MW peak power and once operational, the wave energy project would generate enough electricity to power 10,000 Australian homes.

The power project has received major grant support from Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will be responsible for providing overall project management, and assistance in the designing and manufacturing of the PowerBuoy technology.

Lockheed Martin will also take care of the production of selected PowerBuoy components and perform system integration of the wave energy converters.

Lockheed Martin mission systems and training business director Tim Fuhr said the company is applying design and system integration expertise to commercialise alternative energy technologies, including ocean power.

"This project extends our established relationship with OPT and Australian industry and enables us to demonstrate a clean, efficient energy source for Australia and the world," Fuhr added.

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Image: Wave energy project to be developed in Australia using PowerBuoy technology from OPT. Photo: Courtesy of Ocean Power Technologies, Inc.