EDINBURGH: Energy utility Scottish Power is constructing the world's biggest wave power generation plant near the Orkney Islands after the Scottish Executive has given the go ahead and funding for the 13-million-pound project.
Scottish Power said it hopes to commission the 3MW wave power plant in 2008. The plant will comprise four wave power generators, to be built at the European Marine Energy Centre on Orkney and developed by the Leith-based Ocean Power Delivery. The plant will generate power that will be sufficient to light 2,000 homes, the firm said in a statement.
Scottish Power's director of renewables Keith Anderson, said the Pelamis device, which is one of the critical components of the plant, has been tested at the European Marine Energy Centre. The success of the Pelamis device could help Scotland be a leader in the world on marine energy, he added.
The device is a 520-feet tube consisting of a buoyancy section and a power conversion module. Each tube produces 750 KW of power, using wave motion to push hydraulic rams into a central generating unit. This hydraulic action pressurizes oil stored in a reservoir, which in turn powers the generator. The power is sent to the shore to be added to the national grid.
Scotland's deputy first minister Nicol Stephen said Scotland has the capability to generate almost a quarter of the EU's marine energy. It will be a test of the actual devices that will be used commercially and, if successful, should help propel Scotland into the forefront of marine energy throughout the world, he added.
The wave farm will actually be commissioned by Scottish Power's subsidiary, CRE Energy.
Stephen announced Scotland has already reached its 2010 target of providing 18 per cent of energy consumption from renewable sources.
