Wave Energy Scotland (WES) and the European Marine Energy Centre (Emec) have teamed up for research which aims to capture the “wealth of knowledge and experience” gained from testing marine renewables devices around Orkney.
WEV was set up by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Government to support the development of green-energy technology.
Emec, established in Orkney in 2003, is the world’s leading facility for testing wave and tidal energy converters in real sea conditions.
Results from the new WEV/Emec study are expected to support and inform wave energy convertor designs currently under development.
WEV and Emec said their findings would also make it easier and quicker for developers to identify the services needed to support projects.
“Information of this kind will be invaluable to developers at the early stages of wave-energy converter design and development,” WES managing director Tim Hurst said, adding: “With over 10 years’ experience of testing wave-energy converters and other marine energy technologies, Emec and its partners have learned valuable lessons.
“This study will help our programme participants to make informed decisions at earlier stages of their device development.
“Ultimately, the results should help avoid costly errors at the deployment stage.”
Emec technical manager Elaine Buck said: “More marine-energy converters have been deployed in Orkney than at any other site in the world. Our supply chain has, therefore, unprecedented experience in supporting installations and operations at sea.
“This remarkable activity has allowed them to develop best practice for a diverse range of scenarios. Many local companies are now exporting their skills and knowledge across the globe based on this experience and success.
“What we’d like to do is capture some of this learning to make it easier for wave-energy companies coming to Emec in the future.”
