Winning waves

State science company Wave Energy Technology New Zealand (WET-NZ) has won a grant of more than NZ$2 million from the United States Government to develop a wave power prototype design. WET-NZ has developed a quarter-scale wavepower device which has been moored off Christchurch since 26, producing 2kW of electricity. The new funding means Wave Energy will build and test a quarter-scale version of the device off the coast of Oregon and carry out detailed modeling work in wave tanks at Oregon State University. The company is a collaboration between Industrial Research Ltd (IRL), and Power Projects Ltd, a Wellington-based company headed by wave energy expert John Huckerby. “Taken together, our New Zealand and US-based activities will accelerate the design and development of our 1kW device and our programme towards commercialisation,” Huckerby said. “Project work in both countries will cross-fertilise our development.”