Wave Energy Setback

AquaBuOY is sunk. The $2 million buoy, deployed off the Oregon coast by the Canadian energy company Finavera Renewables, disappeared beneath the waves a day before its test run was to be completed. The 74-foot-tall device, a floating buoy meant to convert wave motion into electricity, had been in place for less than a month.

Finavera plans to retrieve the buoy from its resting place 150 feet below the ocean surface, but that will have to wait until calmer weather next spring. Despite the sinking, a company spokesman said the test was successful because data collected from the system's computer will be used to build a better buoy next time around.—Dawn Stover

Image: Finavera Renewables