Ocean Power Technologies (AMEX:OPTT) shares are trading higher Wednesday after the company announced it signed an agreement for the delivery of marine power systems to the U.S. government.

What Happened: The renewable energy company and the U.S. government reached an initial agreement on a sole source contract award for several unmanned surface vehicles.

The final contract will be issued as a fixed price purchase order without a competitive bidding process.

Ocean Power said this award builds on recent success with vehicles and PowerBuoys in North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East.

"Using small Unmanned Surface Vehicles, like our WAM-V, is a cost-efficient force multiplier for the US Government and other offshore operators. The dual use nature of our technologies enables us to provide systems to a broad set of customers," said Philipp Stratmann, president and CEO of Ocean Power Technologies.

OPTT Price Action: Ocean Power Technologies shares are trading 59.3% higher at 21 cents at the time of writing per data from Benzinga Pro.

Image: 2700757 from Pixabay.