Columbia Power Technologies (C-Power) will commence six-month sea trials to prove an autonomous offshore power system (AOPS) that could support various activities in offshore wind.
C-Power, in partnership with the US Department of Energy (DoE) and US Navy, is testing and validating the technical and economic capabilities of the company’s SeaRAY AOPS.
Initially conceived during a US DoD project, the SeaRAY AOPS provides in-situ power, energy storage, and real-time data and communications support.
It is designed to support unmanned offshore activities, including subsea vehicles, sensor packages, and operating equipment, lowering costs and carbon emissions, reducing operational complexity and increasing safety, C-Power said.
The sea trials will begin later this year at the Navy’s Wave Energy Testing Site (WETS), located off Marine Corps Base Hawaii on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.
The SeaRAY AOPS at WETS is a moored configuration consisting of a surface wave energy converter; a single, combined mooring, data, communications and power cable; and a seafloor base unit that provides 100kWh of energy storage for payload operation.
Following successful completion of the WETS sea trials, C-Power said it expects to complete commercial launch of the SeaRAY in 2021.
C-Power CEO Reenst Lesemann said: “The ocean is a power desert. Providing reliable power and real-time data communications through an AOPS is critical to unlock the full potential of the marine economy.
“The SeaRAY delivers these capabilities and enables a future of cheaper, safer, cleaner, more connected offshore operations.
“We are excited to work with our federal partners at the DoE and Navy, as well as our technical partners on the trials, which are key step toward delivering the SeaRAY AOPS to the market.”