AltEnergy Investor

Ocean Power Technology slashes losses

London AIM listed Ocean Power Technologies , earlier this week announced much reduced annual losses. Net losses for the year to 30 April came in at $429,000 against $2.85m a year ago on revenue up 14% to $5.4m.

The company's technology incorporate a "Powerbuoy" that captures wave energy from the rising and falling of the waves to drive an electrical generator.

Many view wavepower as having a much more popular future than windpower as it can be located out of sight, yet relatively near population centres and above all, provides predicatable power.

The flipside is that this is not quite off the shelf technology. It is more like where the wind industry was in the 1970s and costs are invitably higher. Right now it looks experimental - more like the fuel cells sector.

REH - does wind, but what about CETO?

Renewable Energy Holdings Plc yesterday announced that provided certain conditions are met, it will buy 2 wind farm projects in Germany. The cost of the projects to REH is expected to be GBP33 million, with 80% funded through debt financing and the remaining GBP6.6 million supplied through REH's existing cash reserves.

Today the shares are trading up by over 3.5% to 55p. It is still way off its April peak though of 75.5p. Since going public last year, the plan was that 85% per cent of the money raised was earmarked for investment in proven renewable technologies such as windfarms.

Fine. But it's the CETO wave device that I'm really interested in. This is currently being tested but no date has yet been give for its commercial release.

Testing in this sort of technology has happened for at least 3 decades. And it's still really hard to buy tidal/ocean power devices off the shelf from anywhere.

Let's see if REH can crack it.