Oceanlinx Moves to Establish Wave Energy Park in State of Oregon

Application is for Oceanlinx' first large-scale commercial wave energy facility in the United States.

Florence, Oregon Photo courtesy: htmlhelp.com

(SYDNEY, Australia /PRNewswire/ ) - Oceanlinx Limited, the leading international developer of wave technology for renewable energy and clean water, has, through its US subsidiary, applied to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") for a preliminary permit to establish a wave energy facility offshore of Florence in the state of Oregon on the West coast of the United States.

Throughout the preliminary permit, Oceanlinx will conduct research into the physical, environmental and biological resources of the project area, initiate consultation with project area stakeholders, and assess the overall economic feasibility of the wave energy project. It is expected that this work will take approximately 6-9 months.

The company will also establish a power purchase agreement ("PPA") with a local energy supplier. In developing the PPA, Oceanlinx will leverage its recently established strategic relationship with Evolution Markets Inc. which specialises in structuring transactions and providing consulting and risk- management advisory services for environmental credit markets.

Upon obtaining the appropriate licences, the Florence Wave Park project will be located between one and five kilometres from the Oregon shoreline. Once complete, the proposed 'wave park' will deploy at least 10 floating Oceanlinx wave energy devices installed in an optimized array, each moored and anchored to the seabed. Oceanlinx expects the project to have an initial installed peak capacity of 15 MW, sufficient to supply power to as many as 15,000 local homes, with a scale-up potential to 100 MW.

Once complete, the Florence Wave Park will provide a reliable and clean source of renewable electricity for the local community. Depending on the local conditions, Oceanlinx will also review the opportunity to expand the initial park with a fresh water production capacity. The Oceanlinx wave energy device converts energy in waves to power using a patented turbine. This power can drive a generator to produce electricity or an on-board desalination plant to produce commercially attractive drinking water.

The Oscillating Water Column ("OWC")-based unit to be deployed at the Florence Wave Park has been developed and successfully tested over the past two years at the Oceanlinx wave plant facility at Port Kembla in New South Wales, Australia.

The Oceanlinx technology reduces the need for fossil fuels and can result in large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated that one Oceanlinx unit can save 10,000 tonnes of CO2 and 30 tonnes of SO2 from the atmosphere each year. Once each unit is in operation there is zero CO2 and SO2 pollution produced, while noise emissions are targeted to be below 75db.

In Oregon, the State Governor Ted Kulongoski has established an ambitious goal that places the state at the forefront of the clean energy cause -- to ensure that renewable resources meet 25 percent of Oregon's energy needs by the 2025.

"We believe that the proposed Florence Wave Park aligns with the Governor's strategy," said Tom Engelsman, Chief Executive Officer of Oceanlinx. "Wave energy is inexhaustible and is the most consistent of the intermittent renewable energy sources available. Furthermore, renewable energies such as wave power are indigenous and non-depleting sources of supply which is positive for energy security.

"The Florence Wave Park represents an important expansion of the growing awareness of wave power in the United States and we're pleased to be part of it," he added.

About Oceanlinx
Oceanlinx is an Australian-based renewable energy company with a unique, commercially efficient system for extracting energy from ocean waves and converting it into electricity, or utilising that energy to produce clean, fresh water from seawater.

Oceanlinx has projects under development in Australia at Port Kembla in New South Wales, Portland in Victoria, and King Island in Tasmania; and internationally in Rhode Island and Hawaii in the USA; South Africa; Mexico; and the United Kingdom.

The company changed its name to Oceanlinx in April 2007. It was previously known as Energetech Australia Pty Ltd.