ORPC, MAREI, & UCC Leading Ocean Energy Efforts

DUBLIN, LEINSTER, IRELAND, November 15, 2016 /EINPresswire.com/ -- ORPC Ireland, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ocean
Renewable Power Company, is pleased to announce the kick-off of a multi-million euro technology
development project for which it is the technical lead. Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020
Programme, University College Cork (UCC), Ireland, is project coordinator and along with ORPC
Ireland, is joined in a strong consortium with Letterkenny Institute of Technology (Ireland),
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Germany) and SKF (U.K.) Limited.

The project is called “Technology Advancement of Ocean Energy Devices through Innovative
Development of Electrical Systems to Increase Performance and Reliability,” or TAOIDE for short.
TAOIDE’s overarching goal is to radically improve system reliability by developing a more robust
power transfer system from prime mover to electric grid, specifically, a direct drive permanent
magnet generator capable of operating in a fully flooded condition. In addition to ORPC benefitting
from this innovation, colleague companies in Europe and worldwide will be helped.

The centerpiece of TAOIDE will be ORPC Ireland’s lab testing to validate system improvements
to a full-scale ORPC hydrokinetic turbine and associated economics at UCC’s Lir National Ocean
Test Facility which houses state of the art wave tanks and electrical rigs that allow for scaled
testing in a controlled environment. The Sustainable Energy Applied Research Centre at
Letterkenny Institute of Technology is responsible for developing maintenance plans and applying
systems and preventative maintenance strategies to lower the levelized cost of energy production
in the marine environment. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s Institute for Wind Energy & Energy System
Technology is developing advanced control algorithms for load reduction and power quality
improvement and is contributing its expertise in condition monitoring, and SKF is designing the
generator bearings and rotary seals capable of operating in a fully flooded environment.

"Proving the functionality of a wet-gap generator will be a major development for the ocean
energy industry”, said ORPC President & CEO, Chris Sauer, “and will make our marine renewable
energy systems more competitive with other renewable energy options. We look forward to working
with our dedicated partners in the EU to significantly advance ocean energy technologies and help
secure Europe's global competitiveness."

Dr. Jimmy Murphy, Lir National Ocean Test Facility Manager noted, “I am delighted with the
opportunity to work with ORPC Ireland and the other partners on this exciting major project over
the next three years.”

University College Cork’s Lir National Ocean Test Facility is part of the Centre for Marine and
Renewable Energy (MaREI), which is supported by Science Foundation Ireland, and coordinated by
UCC’s Environmental Research Institute. Headquartered at the Beaufort Building, Ringaskiddy,
County Cork, MaREI has 130 researchers working across six academic institutions and collaborating
with over 45 industry partners. For more information, visit http://www.marei.ie/facilities/lir-notf/.

Ocean Renewable Power Company, LLC, is a global leader in hydrokinetic power system
technology and project solutions. Worldwide it is the only company to have built, operated and
delivered power to a utility grid from a hydrokinetic tidal project, and to a remote community grid
from a hydrokinetic river project. ORPC is committed to working with local partners and creating
local economic opportunities. For more information, visit www.orpc.co.

Suzy Kist
ORPC
(207) 272-8615
email us here

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