Wave Power Energy Device Now Producing Power in Hawaii

The first third-party-validated, grid-tied wave energy device in North American waters started feeding renewable electricity to Marine Corps Base Hawaii last week. In coordination with the U.S. Navy, Northwest Energy Innovations and the Energy Department brought online a prototype of the Azura wave energy converter (WEC) device. This one-of-a-kind, wave energy device is designed to generate electricity from the motion of the choppy waters at the Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) in Kaneohe Bay on Oahu. The Azura is now the first grid-connected wave energy device producing power in North America to be validated by a third party—the University of Hawaii—a major milestone for the emerging American marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) energy industry. Details