Ocean Energy to raise up to €20 million

Ocean Energy is planning to raise up to €20 million towards the commercial development of a sea-driven turbine currently generating power off the west coast.   According to the Irish Examiner, John Keating, commercial director of Ocean Energy, said: "We're very excited by the results generated from the buoy in Galway Bay during the past two years. We installed a turbine in the system in August 2007 and she's out there generating power right now."   November 2006 saw the sea launch of the 28 tonne model and the successful completion of stability sea trials in Cork Harbour and confirmed the ability of the device to operate stably and reliably under sea conditions. These sea trials were supervised and monitored by staff from the Hydraulic and Maritime Research Centre in UCC.   Initial tests carried out on a scale model of 1:50 at UCC's Hydraulic and Maritime Research Centre (HMRC) in Cork optimised the hull configuration and demonstrated the potential power output of the device under north Atlantic conditions. This testing programme, at a scale of 1:50, was designed to optimise the hull configuration and maximise the power output.   Testing at a scale of 1:15 had also been completed in the large wave basin at Ecole Central de Nantes, France.