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Moves on Scottish wave power
 Scottish and Southern Energy and Alstom have agreed to make a major investment in wave power off the Orkney Islands.
Alstom and SSE Renewables are preparing to invest in a major new wave energy project to provide up to 200 Megawatts of generating capacity, the two companies have announced.
Together they are to develop a site 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) off the northern shore of the Orkney Islands, dubbed the Costa Head Wave Project, within the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Strategic Area designated by the UK's Crown Estate. The site lies in water depths between 60 and 75 metres (196 – 246 feet).
The two companies say they will start work on obtaining permits and approvals necessary to develop the wave power project in shallow water using AWS III wave energy generating machines developed by AWE Ocean Energy – the company in which Alstom acquired in a 40% stake in June last year., with initial generating capacity of up to 10 Megawatts.
Initially the two companies will work on testing a full scale version of the AWS III device this year, and a full scale prototype deployment is due at the European Marine Energy Centre in the Orkney Islands in 2014.
Back in 2010 a smaller version of the same machine was tested by Inverness-based Ocean Energy on Loch Ness in Scotland. A full scale version involves deployment of an array of wave energy converters. The system uses flexible membranes which absorb wave energy and convert it into pneumatic power by compressing air in cells that are connected to turbine generators.
A typical device would have up to 12 cells, 16 metres (52 ft) wide and 8 metres (26.24 ft) deep, around a supporting structure with an overall beam of 60 metres, which would be capable of generating up to 2.5 MW, and with a structural steel weight around 1,300 tonnes. The unit is designed to be installed with a slack mooring system in water depths between 65 and 150 metres (195 – 492 ft).
AWS Ocean Energy is being backed by Alstom, a Shell Technology Ventures fund, and the Scottish Investment Bank.Advertisement
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