The Price Of Ocean Power
by Debra Fiakas CFA
For Ocean Power Technologies (OPTT: Nasdaq) the sea is more a utility than Whitman’s source of romantic miracles. The company has developed a wave turbine to capture the energy in ocean waves and turn it into electrical power. Last month the company was successful in convincing investors of the merits of its ‘ocean utility’ technology, raising $8.2 million through the sale of common stock.
Branded as the ‘PowerBuoy’, Ocean Power’s product line is headed by its PB3system that has the capacity to generate up to three kilowatts of peak power. An onboard power storage system has the capacity to store up...
Oceanfront View On The Wave Industry
by Debra Fiakas, CFA
Renewable energy developer Eco Wave Power Ltd. is reportedly planning a public offering of its common stock in Sweden. From its base in Israel, the company has developed proprietary technology to capture the energy in ocean waves and turn it into electricity. Eco Wave has systems in place in Gibralar and the Jaffa Port of its home country. Its pipeline of proposed projects encircles the globe through the United Kingdom, Scotland, Mexico and China among other countries.
With a building list of potential customers, Eco Wave needs capital. Management has disclosed that the 100 kilowatt wave energy installation in Gibraltar required $450,000...
Hydrogen Fuel Is Not Dead
John Lounsbury With the furor over the potential for hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric cars recently, one might think the hydrogen car was dead. Nothing could be further from the truth. Feasibility at an affordable price appears to be established and market availability of hydrogen powered cars may come sooner than you think. Many issues remain to be addressed and this article will try to cover them. The problems to be overcome are not insurmountable, but are also not trivial. These problems include the economics of hydrogen production, transportation, distribution and...
Ocean Power Technologies: Alot Under the Water
by Debra Fiakas, CFA
After years of promises Ocean Power Technologies (OPTT: Nasdaq) is finally realizing revenue from its ocean wave power innovations. Sales in the quarter ending January 2020, was $725,000 - more than double the same quarter in the previous fiscal year. Driving the top-line is the sale of one of the company’s signature PowerBuoy ocean wave power generation system to Enel Group (ENEL: BIT; ESOCF: OTC), Italy’s premier energy company.
Some investors might find Enel an unlikely customer for a renewable energy device like the PowerBuoy. Designed to convert the mechanical energy in ocean waves to electrical energy, the PowerBuoy has been years under development. Ocean Power has long touted the potential in...
Ten Alternative Energy Speculations for 2008: Geothermal, Wind and Wave, and Thin Film Hype
This article is a continuation of my Ten Alternative Energy Speculations for 2008, with picks #8, 9, and10 published last Thursday. If you haven't already, please read the introduction to that article before buying any of the stock picks that follow. These companies are likely to be highly volatile, and large positions are not appropriate for many investors. My least risky picks are part of that same article linked to above; the moderately risky picks are here. This article contains the most speculative three picks. #3 Nevada Geothermal Power (OTCBB:NGLPF or Toronto:NGP.V) US$1.29 or CAD$1.26 Geothermal first started catching...
Grid Connected Ocean Power
by Debra Fiakas CFA The U.S. Navy is laying claim to the first electric grid connected wave power generator in the country. A test site has been set up near military facilities at Kaneohe Bay in the Hawaiian Islands, where wave activity is known to be exceptional. Yes, Hawaii is part of the United States. The project consists of two wave-power generation systems or ‘power buoys’ anchored about a half-mile off shore. The two buoys are connected by undersea cable to the Marine Corps base at Kaneohe and ultimately to Oahu’s electric power grid. The first of...
