Wave energy project eyes Orkney sea trials after hailing 'critical milestone'

An innovative wave energy converter will begin sea trials in Orkney later this year after the project achieved a “critical milestone”.

AWS Ocean Energy hailed the move after the two major sub-assemblies making up its Archimedes Waveswing wave energy converter were joined together.

Final hook-up of the internal systems is now under way at Malin Marine in Glasgow and AWS expects to start commissioning and dry-testing early next month, before deployment at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney later in the year.

Simon Grey, chief executive of Inverness-based AWS, said: “It is brilliant to see the machine complete and you get a real feeling that it ‘looks the business’ – no arms, levers, hinges, joints and other bits to get broken by surface waves, just a simple telescopic can which will pulsate beneath the surface.

AWS Ocean Energy said the two major sub-assemblies making up its Archimedes Waveswing wave energy converter have been joined together.

“This is what wave power machines should look like.”

The prototype Waveswing is being built by Malin Marine at its fabrication facility at Westway Dock in Renfrew.

The £3.4million project has been funded by Wave Energy Scotland (WES) as part of the Novel Wave Energy Converter development programme. The objective of the programme is to demonstrate Europe’s top wave energy technologies in real sea conditions.

Earlier this month, a giant wave energy machine started sea trials in Orkney marking a milestone for the ambitious green power project.

Mocean Energy said its 20-metre long, 38-tonne Blue X wave machine had been towed from Kirkwall to the EMEC’s Scapa Flow test site where it has been successfully moored and commissioned for initial sea trials.

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