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2008 Issues Archive
26 November 2008
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Double boost in marine energy
The marine energy sector has received a double boost towards the widespread installation of offshore wave and tidal devices with plans announced for both ends of the country.
The Crown Estate has invited initial proposals from developers for the UK’s first commercial wave and tidal power sites to be located in the Pentland Firth between Caithness and the Orkney islands.
Estimates of the energy potential in this few square kilometres range from 2GW to 8GW.
The first devices to be installed are expected to be full-size demonstration machines deployed in small arrays. Larger-scale development may require improvements to the grid in the region.
The first target for the area is to deliver 700MW of new offshore wave and tidal power by 2020 and interested parties have 19 December to register their interest in securing a seabed lease in the Pentland Firth.
Scottish marine energy company AWS Ocean Energy is likely to be one of the companies interested. It is developing a range of devices such as its Archimedes Waveswing wave energy converter, which comprises a cylinder-shaped buoy moored to the seabed. Waves move an air-filled upper casing against a lower fixed cylinder, with up and down movement converted into electricity.
Simon Grey, AWS Ocean’s chief executive, welcomed the Crown Estate’s decision.
He said: “Harnessing the energy within the Pentland Firth will be challenging but we intend to play our part in realising this fantastic opportunity.
“From our experience, the developers of wave and tidal technologies face enormous challenges in rough and inhospitable environments to extract the energy on a year-round, long-term and sustainable basis.”
Meanwhile, subsea engineering firm JP Kenny has been appointed to manage the design, procurement and construction of the Wave Hub, a renewable energy project off the coast of Hayle in west Cornwall.
Wave Hub is an electrical “socket” on the seabed connected to the National Grid via a subsea cable. With a capacity of up to 20MW, it will allow the pre-commercial testing of wave energy devices on a large scale.
Four wave device developers are already working with the South West Regional Development Agency on the project, and it is anticipated that up to 30 devices could be deployed.
© PE Publishing, 26 November 2008
