Green Light for World's Largest Wave Energy Project

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - One of the world's largest marine energy projects has been given the green light off the northern coast of Scotland.

The Scottish government has granted approval to Aquamarine Power Limited (Edinburgh, Scotland) for the development of a 40-megawatt (MW) wave farm off the north-west coast of Lewis. The green light makes the project the world's largest fully-permitted wave energy site. The company was originally granted a lease for the project by the Crown Estate in May 2011. For additional information, see May 24, 2011, article - Scotland to Add Three Offshore Wave Energy Projects.

Onshore planning for the project was secured last September and the company expects to start installing its Oyster wave energy machines there 'in the next few years', once the necessary grid infrastructure has been put in place. The project will see the deployment of between 40 and 50 Oyster devices along the coast at Lag na Greine, near to Fivepenny Borve, in what has been classed as 'one of the best wave energy locations in Europe'. When commissioned, the wave farm will be capable of generating enough electricity for approximately 30,000 homes.

"I am delighted to announce that Scottish Ministers have granted a Llicence to Aquamarine Power to develop the largest commercial wave array in the world," declared Scotland's Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, Fergus Ewing. "The development of up to 50 Oyster wave devices off the North West coast of Lewis, when operational, will have the power to produce 40MW of renewable electricity.‬ With 10 per cent of Europe's wave power potential, and 25 per cent of its offshore wind and tidal power potential, the opportunities for Scotland are enormous."‬

"This is a significant milestone for our company," commented Aquamarine Power Chief Executive Officer, Martin McAdam. "The goal of our industry is to become commercial, and to do this we need two things - reliable technologies and a route to market. Our engineers are currently working hard on getting the technology right and we now have a site where we can install our first small farm, with a larger-scale commercial build out in the years ahead."

Aquamarine Power is currently testing its second full-scale wave machine, known as the Oyster 800, at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, where it is sending power to the grid.

Maria McCaffery Chief Executive of RenewableUK welcomed the news: "This is a big step forward for the marine energy sector in the U.K. and especially in the Scottish Islands, which has such a first-rate marine energy resource. These are the type of developments that we hope to see more of in the coming months and years to herald the opportunity that marine energy represents".

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