Ocean Power Technologies (OPTT) is taking its PowerBuoy wave energy system to Japan for the first time.  This morning the company is announcing that it has signed an agreement with three Japanese companies to develop a demo wave power station and will join the Tokyo Wave Power Initiative committee.

The first phase of the project will involve working to raise awareness of wave power in Japan and to identify favorable wave energy sites.  Once the first phase is complete the companies will enter into another agreement to build a demo plant with up to 3 PowerBuoy systems.  The ultimate goal will be a commercial scale wave power station with capacity up to 10MW.

Japan has recently announced a goal of a 25% cut in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 by 2020 and plans to introduce a feed-in tariff soon.

OPT CEO George Taylor, said, “We are delighted to be working with three of Japan’s leading companies in forging a new way forward for wave energy in Japan. As one of the world’s largest economies, with a dense urban population and a coastline almost as long as Canada, Japan plays a significant regional role in promoting technical innovation and clean energy. We look forward to working with this group to make an important contribution to achieving Japan’s targeted reductions in carbon emissions.”