Plans for World's Biggest Wave Farm Move Forward

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The world's largest commercial-scale wave energy project has moved forward, with the appointment of VolkerStevin Marine (Hoddesdon, England) as the preferred contractor. VolkerStevin Marine was appointed by RWE npower, the U.K. subsidiary of German energy giant RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany), for the Siadar Wave Energy Project (SWEP) on the Isle of Lewis, the largest of the Western Isles off Scotland's northwest coast. The project is expected to produce 4 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough energy to meet the annual needs of about 1,500 homes.

The £30 million ($49.7 million) SWEP project, located about 400 metres offshore, will use Wavegen's (Inverness, Scotland) Oscillating Water Column technology and is expected to be the first of similar schemes for the Western Isles and other locations around the U.K. Ocean waves move air in and out of chambers in a breakwater, which in turn drives Wavegen's turbine, known as a Wells turbine, to generate electricity. Wavegen is well established in the wave energy market. The company launched Limpet, the world's first commercial-scale wave energy device, off the Scottish island of Islay in 2000.

One of the only other large, commercial-scale wave energy projects of note is the 'sea-snake' project from Pelamis Wave Power (Edinburgh, Scotland), off the coast of Portugal, but this suffered financial and technical problems earlier this year.

VolkerStevin Marine, working with Westminster Dredging (Fareham, England), will be responsible for the design and construction contract for the Siadar scheme. Fabrication work will start in 2010.

"This is an exciting time for renewable energy development in the U.K.," said John Lovell of VolkerStevin Marine. "The first commercially viable wave energy power project has been long awaited, and we are pleased to be working with RWE npower renewables and Voith Hydro Wavegen to make this become a reality.

"We still have work to do on the design and construction of the project in terms of its continued viability and the engineering techniques required, but we are confident we can produce a scheme for our client that could be functional by 2012."

Development & Construction Manager at RWE npower Renewables Chris Pasteur said: "The Siadar Wave Energy Project has the potential to put the U.K. at the forefront of the world's wave energy industry. The combined skills and expertise of our preferred contractors VolkerStevin Marine and Westminster Dredging will be a major asset to the development of the project, which was granted planning consent by the Scottish Government earlier this year.

Pasteur added: "Having received planning consent and appointed our preferred contractors, we are now ready to start construction. However, prior to this, we require the Scottish government's decision on funding, which is critical to ensuring the project's future success."

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