Ocean Power Technologies’ anchor for a PB150 PowerBuoy wave energy system installed offshore Oregon coast may be missing, The World Link informs.
The company announced plans to install two more anchors this spring, but it’s now uncertain about the location of the first anchor’s subsurface float.
The float represents the intermediary between the buoy and a 450-ton anchor on the sea floor, and it is also the main way to keep track of the anchor.
According to the company’s CEO Charles Dunleavy, the disappearance could indicate a shift in position of the anchor.
Also the reason could be that the tendon line connecting the float to the anchor has become fouled, pulling the float downward.
The company sent an ROV to conduct the check of the device.
OPT plans to install a total of 10 buoys off Reedsport, which would make this the first commercial wave energy farm in the country, after the completion.
CEO added that they plan to place a marker buoy above the float’s approximate location within the next week.
[mappress] Subsea World News Staff, February 18, 2013; Image: OPT