Scotland-based Pelamis Wave Power issued a statement this week regarding its Aguçadoura wave-power project in Portugal, which was taken off line recently due to financial technical difficulties.
The Aguçadoura project, which has been touted as the first commercial wave power plant, is owned and operated by a joint venture company called Companhia da Energia Oceânica (CEO) which is currently 77% owned by a subsidiary of Australian company Babcock and Brown Limited and 23% by Pelamis Wave Power Limited.
Due to the current economic downturn, Babcock and Brown (ASX: BNB) has had its shares suspended and has been in a managed process of selling its assets, according to the Pelamis statement.
The company said the next phase of the wave farm, which was planned to include 25 power-generating units, is on hold until a new financing partner can be found.
Pelamis also asserted that the technical problem, which caused the first three units to be removed from the water, is being fixed. The International Herald Tribune reported that the units, with a combined power capacity of 2.25 megawatts, had developed leaks in their buoyancy tanks.
The Pelamis statement said: "work is being undertaken to resolve an issue relating to the location of the machine’s bearings in their housings. This solution has now been fully tested and is ready for deployment with all material having now been ordered."
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