Voith Hydro Wavegen (VHW), the Inverness-based marine-energy firm, said yesterday it had handed over the world’s first “full-life” commercial wavepower plant.
VHW already claimed the mantle of being the first company in the world to develop a commercial-scale, grid-connected wave-energy plant after installing its Limpet demonstrator project in Islay in 2000.
The company said it had achieved another first in the sale of a full-scale power plant to Ente Vasco de la Energia, the Basque energy board in the north of Spain.
VHW chief executive Matthew Seed added: “This is very exciting news, not just for our company, but for the whole marine-energy sector.
“This major milestone is a demonstration of just how far the industry has developed in recent years.”
The 300 kilowatt plant, consisting of 16 turbines, is housed within a breakwater at the port of Mutriku. It has been designed for a 25-year operational life and is expected to provide electricity for 250 homes.
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Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: “This welcome announcement highlights the progress being made towards full commercialisation of wave and tidal technologies.”
A 70 megawatt windfarm in Sutherland has generated its first electricity.
SSE’s £100million Gordonbush site near Brora has come online, with two turbines exporting power to the national grid so far.
A further 13 turbines have already been installed, with another 20 still to be erected.