Greentech Lead Middle East: SDE Energy, a provider of
technology and solutions to produce electricity from sea waves, has formed joint
venture with Green Energy International (“GEI”) for the development
of a 50 MW sea wave power plant along the coastline of the Republic
of Ecuador.
The talks in this regard began in June this year when the
Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy (MEER) invited SDE to introduce
its technology. The sea wave power plant(s) will be designed and constructed by
SDE Energy.
The joint-venture company to be formed by SDE and GEI,
SDE Ecuador, may also develop smaller sea wave power plants in different sites around
the Galapagos Islands.
The Republic of Ecuador launched a
feed-in-tariff (FIT) program on April 14th, 2011 under which the energy
produced by the sea wave power plant(s) will be sold. The Government of the
Republic of Ecuador has offered to finance 60 percent of the costs
involved in constructing a sea wave power plant.
Ecuador’s local energy authority, Consejo Nacional
de Electricidad (“CONELEC”), will pay SDE Ecuador a fixed price of
US 0.4477 cents per kWh for the energy produced by the sea wave energy
power plant(s) for a contract term of 15 years.
Reliance Partners, an independent investment bank
headquartered in the United States of America, is securing the required
financing for the sea wave power plant(s) that will be owned and operated by SDE
Ecuador.
SDE Energy has established 11 models of sea wave power
plants. The company is currently building the 12th model of its sea wave
power plant for its partners in China at the company’s factory
in Israel. This sea wave power plant will be the second power plant which
the company has built in China.
“Ecuador is fast becoming a leader in the renewable
sector and its commitment and policies towards clean, renewable sources of
energy is unparalleled for a county of its size.
Currently, Ecuador’s energy production mainly consists of
hydroelectric power plants which are at risk from droughts and energy from the
combustion of polluting oil,” said Shmuel Ovadia, SDE Energy’s CEO.
“SDE’s sea wave power systems have been designated as the
number one sea wave energy technology in the world on
the PESWIKI website and our sea wave power systems are the cheapest
and most cost-efficient renewable energy technology in the market,” Ovadia
added.
Due to high oil prices and the rising costs of
electricity, sea wave energy production has emerged as a competitive, viable,
and often preferred alternative for energy production.
SDE is rapidly expanding to international markets. The
company recently grabbed orders from India to construct sea wave power
generation plants along the coast of India in collaboration with the
Government of India and local partners.