Lockheed Martin and OPT sign deal

Lockheed Martin and AIM-listed Ocean Power Technologies have signed a commercial engineering-services agreement to develop OPT’s wave-energy systems for use in future utility-scale power-generation projects.

Under the agreement, Lockheed Martin will provide systems integration, lean manufacturing and test and optimisation analysis to bring OPT’s PowerBuoy technology to utility-scale.

This will allow the two companies to pursue future utility-scale power generation projects in North America.

The companies agreed to collaborate on such projects in a letter of intent signed in January 2009.

OPT’s PowerBuoy technology captures and converts energy from the rising and falling of waves into electricity.

The generated power is transferred ashore via an underwater power-transmission cable.

A future 10MW utility power station comprised of floating PowerBuoy systems would occupy approximately 30 acres (0.125km2) of ocean space, generating enough electricity for approximately 4,000 homes.