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Released November 25, 2014 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Scotland's government has pledged to accelerate the development of its budding wave energy sector just days after one of its leading wave energy companies, Pelamis Wave Power (Edinburgh, Scotland), went into administration.
The government said it will set up a wave energy technology development body to encourage innovation in the industry. Wave Energy Scotland will aim to bring together "the best engineering and academic minds to collaborate in a research and development programme to accelerate wave technology further."
The news comes as one of the most established wave energy companies in the U.K. failed to find funding to advance its technology. Scottish renewable energy firm Pelamis and its wave converters have been involved in numerous advanced pilot and testing projects in recent years. In June, it celebrated a connectivity milestone as its wave power generators clocked up 10,000 hours of collective operation at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) test site in Orkney.
"The directors of Pelamis regret to announce that they have been unable to secure the additional funding required for further development of the Company's market leading wave energy technology," the company stated. "As a result of this the board has reluctantly moved to appoint an administrator to assess the options for securing the future for the business and employees of Pelamis."
Pelamis has been working on developing a number of larger scale demonstration projects, including a 5-megawatt (MW) array off the west coast of Ireland with the country's state-owned Electricity Supply Board (ESB) (Dublin) and the 10- MW Aegir project off the Scottish coast with Swedish energy company Vattenfall AB (Stockholm Sweden). For additional information, see April 12, 2011 and March 22, 2102, articles - Ireland's ESB Looks to Wave Power and Vattenfall Unveils New Wave Energy Plans in Scotland.
The Scottish Government said it recognized that early stage technologies, such as wave energy, can take time to flourish and that its development has "been hampered by the uncertainty facing the energy sector more widely.". Its new initiative is to advance wave power to the same level as tidal energy, which has seen stronger investment.
Announcing Wave Energy Scotland, Scottish Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism Fergus Ewing, explained: "Now is the right time to consider the future of our support for wave energy in Scotland. This is a young industry and we still have a lot of learning to do in marine renewables. We want to encourage further innovation in wave energy development and we recognise the need for a bold new approach to supporting this emerging technology. This means that while the tidal energy sector is ready to build array demonstration projects -- the MeyGen project in the Pentland Firth is one such example -- the wave energy sector must evolve further to gain the confidence of investors.".
View Project Report - 300035104 300035958 300141266
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
The government said it will set up a wave energy technology development body to encourage innovation in the industry. Wave Energy Scotland will aim to bring together "the best engineering and academic minds to collaborate in a research and development programme to accelerate wave technology further."
The news comes as one of the most established wave energy companies in the U.K. failed to find funding to advance its technology. Scottish renewable energy firm Pelamis and its wave converters have been involved in numerous advanced pilot and testing projects in recent years. In June, it celebrated a connectivity milestone as its wave power generators clocked up 10,000 hours of collective operation at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) test site in Orkney.
"The directors of Pelamis regret to announce that they have been unable to secure the additional funding required for further development of the Company's market leading wave energy technology," the company stated. "As a result of this the board has reluctantly moved to appoint an administrator to assess the options for securing the future for the business and employees of Pelamis."
Pelamis has been working on developing a number of larger scale demonstration projects, including a 5-megawatt (MW) array off the west coast of Ireland with the country's state-owned Electricity Supply Board (ESB) (Dublin) and the 10- MW Aegir project off the Scottish coast with Swedish energy company Vattenfall AB (Stockholm Sweden). For additional information, see April 12, 2011 and March 22, 2102, articles - Ireland's ESB Looks to Wave Power and Vattenfall Unveils New Wave Energy Plans in Scotland.
The Scottish Government said it recognized that early stage technologies, such as wave energy, can take time to flourish and that its development has "been hampered by the uncertainty facing the energy sector more widely.". Its new initiative is to advance wave power to the same level as tidal energy, which has seen stronger investment.
Announcing Wave Energy Scotland, Scottish Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism Fergus Ewing, explained: "Now is the right time to consider the future of our support for wave energy in Scotland. This is a young industry and we still have a lot of learning to do in marine renewables. We want to encourage further innovation in wave energy development and we recognise the need for a bold new approach to supporting this emerging technology. This means that while the tidal energy sector is ready to build array demonstration projects -- the MeyGen project in the Pentland Firth is one such example -- the wave energy sector must evolve further to gain the confidence of investors.".
View Project Report - 300035104 300035958 300141266
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
