Optima Health Regulatory News (OPT)

2 Feb 2006 07:00

Ocean Power Technologies Inc02 February 2006 NEWS RELEASE Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. 1590 Reed Road Pennington, New Jersey 08534 USA For Immediate Release 2 February 2006 Ocean Power Technologies announces first project in UK Ocean Power Technologies, Inc ("OPT" or the "Company") (London Stock Exchange:AIM-OPT) announced today that it has been selected to occupy a position at theSouth West Wave Hub Project to install a PowerBuoy(TM) station off the northcoast of Cornwall. This will be the Company's first project in the UK. The WaveHub project, which is being backed by the South West of England RegionalDevelopment Agency (RDA), will provide a direct connection to the national grid10 miles out to sea off the coast of Hayle, along with a simplified permitprocess. This project is OPT's sixth PowerBuoy(TM) project making it a worldleader in the deployment of wave power stations. Other project sites includeSpain, France, Hawaii and New Jersey. The OPT wave power station will be of 5MW capacity, initially expected tocomprise the Company's 150 kW PowerBuoys, and may include 250kW devices for thefinal stage. In total there will be approximately 30 PowerBuoys deployed overthe period 2007 - 2008. The PowerBuoys to be installed at the Wave Hub projectwill be based on those deployed at projects elsewhere in Europe and NorthAmerica. OPT anticipates that this initial project will provide a launch pad forfurther UK wave power stations to capture a significant part of the potential20,000 MW UK wave energy market. Mark R. Draper, Chief Executive of Ocean Power Technologies Ltd, said, "Wave Huboffers us an excellent wave resource, and access to Cornwall's long standingmanufacturing credentials, a skilled labour force and strong public support. Weare thrilled to be underway with this exciting project in the UK." Dr. George W. Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of OPT stated, "We are delightedwith this progress in the UK. We have always recognised the European marketwould become a very important part of our international business and thisannouncement reinforces our decision to establish OPT Ltd as a significantpresence in the UK." Nick Harrington, the South West RDA's Wave Hub Project Manager, said, "There wassignificant interest in this project with sixteen expressions of interest. Weevaluated each company based on a set of criteria, including how advanced theywere with their projects. We are delighted that OPT is one of the successfulcompanies as they bring with them significant international experience, testedtechnology and financial resources. All of this will ensure we get the maximumbenefit for the South West's economy through manufacture and support of thedevices and we hope to be able to introduce the company to the region's manyleading edge research institutions with expertise in the marine, advancedengineering and environmental sectors." For further information, please contact: Dr. George W. Taylor, Mark R. Draper,Chief Executive Officer Chief ExecutiveTelephone: (609) 730-0400 Ocean Power Technologies LtdE-mail: gtaylor@oceanpowertech.com Telephone: +44 01926623370 E-mail: mdraper@oceanpowertech.com Michael Brennan, Ken Cronin,Evolution Securities Limited Gavin Anderson & CompanyTelephone: +44 207 071 4300 Telephone: +44 207 554 1400 Background Information Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. OPT is the world's first publicly listed wave power company. It iscommercialising its proprietary technology for the generation of electricalpower using the energy of ocean waves. OPT's wave energy systems are based onmodular, buoy-like structures, called PowerBuoys(TM), which are "intelligent"systems capable of responding to differing wave conditions. The Company'socean-tested systems have the potential to provide cost competitive, cleanelectrical power on a large scale. OPT has recently deployed two of its PowerBuoys at customer sites off Hawaii andNew Jersey, USA. The Hawaii system is in connection with OPT's on-going contractfrom the US Navy, and the New Jersey system is under a contract from the NewJersey Board of Public Utilities and has since deployment successfully withstoodwave and wind forces generated by Hurricane Wilma. In 2004 Iberdrola signed a Development Agreement with OPT for the development,construction and operation of a wave power station off the coast of theCantabria region in northern Spain. This project is on-going and Total have alsobecome a joint venture partner. The initial purpose of the joint venture is tobuild and operate a 1.25 MW wave power station. Following the successfulcompletion of the initial OPT wave power it is expected that over the nextseveral years hundreds of megawatts of OPT wave power stations will beinstalled. In 2005 OPT signed an agreement with Total Energie Developpement S.A.S andIberdrola S.A. for the development of a wave power station in France. When asuitable site is identified with good local acceptance, all authorizationsobtained, and the off-take of electricity in place, a wave power station with acapacity of up to 2-5 MW is expected to be installed in the second phase of theproject. The Wave Hub Project The total Wave Hub project is expected to create 100 jobs directly, and be acatalyst for the creation of an entire new industry building on the South West'straditional strengths of maritime and engineering expertise. This could mean upto 450 new jobs and £15 million a year to the regional economy by 2010, risingto around 700 jobs and £27 million a year by 2020. At least 40% of these jobsand 20% of the GVA benefits could be realised in Cornwall. The South West RDA has already committed £2 million to the Wave Hub project andis seeking additional funding with a view to construction of the Wave Hubbeginning next year. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange