Looks like all of Gov. O’Malley’s trips to the Emerald Isle have paid off.

Wavebob, an Irish company that is trying to harness ocean energy to generate electricity, will be opening their U.S. headquarters in Annapolis. The company announced its plans yesterday at a news conference with the governor — who incidentally never actually met with the company during any of his trips. Wavebob reportedly picked Annapolis as its home because of the area’s maritime technology expertise, although one of its managers is also a Naval Academy graduate.

Even though initial research on ocean energy is better suited to the more wavy West Coast, the company is considering adding testing sites in the Atlantic Ocean, or using the Navy’s wave tank in Bethesda. Wave energy has the potential to supply 6.5 percent of our country’s electricity needs, but it will be years before it reaches consumers.

O’Malley is visiting Israel next week — to speak at a BioMed conference about drug and medical device commercialization in our state, among other things. Let’s see what he brings home from there.

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