Latest Finavera family member: another buoy

Vancouver-based Finavera Renewables (TSX VENTURE: FVR) today announced that construction has begun on the second generation of its AquaBuOY wave energy converter.

Fabrication of the second generation device is being carried out in Portland, Oregon.

"Work crews are busy bending steel and fabricating components for the device which we plan to test in the ocean this year off the Oregon coast," said Alla Weinstein, General Manager of Finavera Renewables' ocean energy technology group.

Test and measurement equipment will be installed on an AquaBuOY prototype to monitor its performance. That information will guide follow-on development work to optimize its design and commercialization, the company said.

The AquaBuOY is a floating buoy structure designed to convert the kinetic energy of the vertical motion of oncoming waves into clean electricity.

Energy transfer takes place by converting the vertical component of wave kinetic energy into pressurized seawater using two-stroke hose pumps, which drives an electrical turbine (here's an animation from the company's web site.)

Finavera is developing wave energy projects in the United States, Portugal, South Africa and Canada. The company is also developing other wind energy projects in Canada and Ireland.