Weekly Intelligence Brief

EMEC open to ideas, to develop nursery sites

11 November 2009

Orkney-based European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) plans to consult on potential locations and on other facilities that would benefit wave and tidal developers in the future. Wave and tidal energy companies are to be asked for their views on the future development of EMEC.

The Centre is already developing new nursery sites for testing prototype devices. Out of the four nursery sites, two of them are for tidal machines.

EMEC shared that some developers are keen to subject their prototype technologies to the full force of the sea at our main wave and tidal test sites, while others would prefer the sort of half-way house the new nursery sites will provide, enabling them conduct sea trials in less rigorous conditions with either scaled down or full size machines. These sites will allow developers to trial smaller scale marine energy devices as well as full size prototypes in less challenging sea conditions than those experienced at EMEC’s main test sites.

These sites are being supported by the UK Government’s Department for Energy and Climate Change through its funding worth £8 million. The DECC funding will also allow the installation of three new grid-connected berths, two at the main tidal test site and another at the main wave test site.

Stromness-based Scotrenewables (Marine Power) Ltd is currently testing a fifth-scale tidal turbine and sees this as an important way to develop the technology before commissioning a full size machine. Irish company OpenHydro is testing its prototype turbine at EMEC’s main tidal test site and has just delivered a far larger 1-megawatt (MW) machine for installation at the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia.

Read more:

European Marine Energy Centre: http://social.tidaltoday.com/search/node/European+Marine+Energy+Centre