8. July 2008 by Mykel Pereira.

Ocean Power Technologies, Inc.

Corporate Offices:

1590 Reed Road
Pennington
New Jersey 08534
USA
Phone: +1 609 730 0400
Fax: +1 609 730 0404

Ocean Power Technologies Ltd

Warwick Innovation Centre
Gallows Hill
Warwick CV34 6UW
UK
Phone: +44 (0)1926 623370
Fax: +44 (0) 1926 408190

About

OPT was formed by Dr. George W. Taylor and the late Dr. Joseph R. Burns in pursuit of their vision of harnessing the boundless energy of the world’s oceans. Starting in 1994 OPT has focused on its proprietary PowerBuoy™ technology, capturing wave energy using large floating buoys anchored to the sea bed and converting the energy into electricity using innovative power take-off systems.

Commencing in 1997, ocean trials have been conducted off the coast of New Jersey to demonstrate the concept of using a floating buoy to capture wave energy and convert it into electricity. The technology is on a growth curve towards full-scale commercial application, recent examples of which are the 40 kW-rated PowerBuoys installed in Hawaii and New Jersey.

Ocean Power Technologies Inc. was floated on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market in October 2003 following a successful IPO, and is traded on the AIM market under the symbol “OPT”.

The Company completed its US IPO and listing on Nasdaq in April 2007, and is traded on Nasdaq under the symbol “OPTT”.

OPT has begun the initial phase of installation of a 1.39 MW wave farm off the northern coast of Spain. The project is a joint venture with the Spanish utility Iberdrola SA. A full size demonstration plant of up to 5MW capacity is planned for installation in UK waters.

Technology

OPT’s PowerBuoy® wave generation system uses a “smart,” ocean-going buoy to capture and convert wave energy into low-cost, clean electricity.

The rising and falling of the waves off shore causes the buoy to move freely up and down. The resultant mechanical stroking is converted via a sophisticated power take-off to drive an electrical generator. The generated power is transmitted ashore via an underwater power cable.

OPT power station showing multiple buoys.

A 10-Megawatt OPT power station would occupy only approximately 30 acres
(0.125 square kilometers) of ocean space.

Sensors on the PowerBuoy® continuously monitor the performance of the various subsystems and surrounding ocean environment. Data is transmitted to shore in real time. In the event of very large oncoming waves, the system automatically locks-up and ceases power production. When the wave heights return to normal, the system unlocks and recommences energy conversion and transmission of the electrical power ashore.

• Buoys are spaced to maximize energy capture.

• Scalable to large power stations (100+ MW)

Products

Ocean Power Technologies’ PowerBuoy® is designed to convert ocean wave energy into useable electrical power for utility-scale grid connected applications. The PowerBuoy® can be deployed in arrays scalable to 100’s of megawatts.

Posted in New Jersey, Wave Techs, United Kingdom, Tidal Techs, USA | No Comments »

10. May 2008 by Mykel Pereira.

First Solar, Inc

First Solar has made the Promise of Thin Film a Reality and has become one of the fastest growing manufacturers of solar modules in the world.

Major Milestones

• First Solar was formed in 1999 and launched production of commercial products in 2002

• First Solar’s IPO took place on November 17, 2006; Common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol FSLR

• First Solar has achieved the lowest manufacturing cost per watt in the industry

• First Solar has long term module supply contracts in place with leading solar project developers for more than 3.4 gigawatts of PV modules through 2012

• First Solar has expanded manufacturing capacity to 277 MW in 2007; additional plants under construction will bring total capacity to 910 MW in 2009

• Average module conversion efficiency is 10.5% as of September 2007

• First Solar developed the first pre-funded module collection and recycling program in the PV industry

Products

First Solar FS Series PV Modules are designed for large scale, grid-connected solar power plants and are sold to leading solar project developers for use in commercial PV projects. First Solar application engineers provide full technical support and industry leading, comprehensive product documentation to our partners to ensure that systems are optimized for high performance and long term reliability.

FS Series Product Features

• Advanced thin film design produces high energy across a wide range of climatic conditions with excellent low light response and temperature coefficient
• Proven to perform as predicted with a high Performance Ratio (PR)
• Frameless laminate is robust, cost effective and recyclable
• Manufactured in highly automated state-of-the-art facilities certified to ISO9001:2000 quality and ISO14001:2004 environmental management standards
• Tested by leading US and European institutes and certified for reliability and safety:
  • Safety Class II Certified
  • Certified to IEC 61646
  • CE Mark
  • UL 1703

Posted in Ohio, Malaysia, Germany, New Jersey, USA, Solar Techs, Arizona | No Comments »