Due to the EU loan of €10 million from the new InnovFin Demo Project Facility, it will be enabled a project which contains the importance of conversion of wave energy into electrical power, which could be a major step forward in the quest to find new sources of sustainable energy.

The Finnish company AW-Energy will build a full-scale demonstration unit of their WaveRoller concept in Portugal. Additionally, the loan, provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and backed by the EU’s research and innovation funding programme Horizon 2020, is the first under the InnovFin Energy Demo Project, an innovative, sectoral debt facility which aims to support projects that are commercially promising, but are deemed technologically risky.

EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, said: “An investment in renewable energy technologies is an investment in Europe’s leadership of these new industries. We want to support renewable energy pioneers to contribute solutions to global climate change challenges, while generating employment and sustainable economic growth at home in Europe.”

Commissioner Moedas, EIB Vice President Jan Vapaavuori and CEO of AW-Energy John Liljelundwill sign the loan agreement this afternoon in Brussels. The signing ceremony will take place in the Berlaymont building.

The WaveRoller technology, already supported with EU funding in the SURGE project under the Seventh Framework Programme, the predecessor of Horizon 2020, aims at bridging the gap between a demonstration installation and commercial deployment of a near-shore Oscillating Wave Surge Converter (OWSC) device that converts wave energy into electrical power. AW-Energy has been operating three 100kW prototype units connected to the grid near Peniche in Portugal since 2012. With the support of the new loan of €10 million, it plans to install a full-scale 350kW demonstration device in the same area in 2016. The total project cost is €19 million.

Several innovative ocean energy technologies are being developed but they face obstacles on the way to the market, because of concerns that they may fail to become competitive. The Oscillating Wave Surge Converter, to be demonstrated under the WaveRoller project, shows promising potential. The global market potential for this kind of application is high, estimated at over 200 GW based on feasible sites identified around the world. The project, which spans a five year period, has already stimulated commercial interest in six countries. Collectively, they aim to sell over 50 units in the first four years of operation.

AW-Energy Ltd is a Finnish company developing the patented WaveRoller concept and product design. The WaveRoller is the first device to utilize the well known form of ocean wave energy – the surge phenomenon (Learn more about Wave Surge). AW-Energy is privately held by the founders, personnel and capital investors

A massive tidal energy project on the seabed off Northern Ireland’s north coast should begin in 2018, developers said.

Fair Head Tidal is planning to submit a marine licence application this summer for a 100MW tidal energy scheme to be located off the north Antrim coast of Northern Ireland, which would generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 70,000 homes.

However, the company is consulting with communities in Ballycastle and Rathlin Island before it submits its planning application.

The team behind the Fair Head Tidal Energy Park, a joint venture between Cork-based DP Energy and Belgium company Bluepower, has concluded a series of surveys offshore and onshore.

The results of the surveys are being assessed and will be included in the marine licence application to install an array of tidal turbines.

DP Energy project manager Clodagh McGrath explained:

“The Fair Head Tidal development strategy is to progress with a 100MW offshore consent application and build the project out in phases, planned to commence in 2018. We will of course continue this engagement process as we finalise our plans and look forward to hosting more local open days this spring before we complete our application.(…) At these open days we will be sharing details on the surveys completed, the proposed tidal energy technologies and how we plan to bring the energy ashore and connect into the national electricity grid.”

Atlantis and ScottishPower Renewables (UK) Limited (SPR) are teaming up to develop a joint portfolio of projects for the fast growing tidal sector, Atlantis announced yesterday (Tuesday).

Atlantis’s Scottish project development vehicle, Tidal Power Scotland Limited (TPSL), will acquire SPR’s portfolio of tidal projects in exchange for a 6% shareholding in TPSL for SPR. As a shareholder, SPR will have a representative on the TPSL board, ensuring that the enlarged portfolio can benefit from its experience in renewable energy development and operations, and demonstrating commitment to the future of tidal power in the UK.

The SPR tidal power portfolio consists of two sites, a 10MW project at the Sound of Islay in western Scotland and a 100MW development at the Ness of Duncansby at Scotland’s north eastern tip. The projects will sit alongside the flagship 398MW MeyGen project, which is 85% owned by TPSL.

The project assets include agreements for lease with The Crown Estate for both sites, and the Sound of Islay site also has a grid connection offer and construction consents from the Scottish Ministers. The Sound of Islay project has been awarded €20.7 million of grant funding from the European Commission’s NER300 fund by way of capital and revenue support. With consents, grid connection and grants secured, this project is the most advanced commercial scale project in the UK after MeyGen, and is expected to achieve financial close in 2016.

Following completion of the acquisition of Marine Current Turbines Limited from Siemens AG in an all share deal earlier this year, the Atlantis group has agreements for lease for two further Scottish tidal sites, at the Mull of Galloway in south-west Scotland and Brough Ness, to the north of the MeyGen and Ness of Duncansby sites in the Pentland Firth. Atlantis is in the process of adding these two projects, with a combined capacity of 130MW, to the TPSL portfolio.

Atlantis, through TPSL, is the driving force behind the growing tidal sector in the UK. TPSL has the largest tidal stream portfolio in the UK, which is at the forefront of this burgeoning industry. The benefits of the increased scale of development in the expanded portfolio are expected to extend to a stronger supply chain in Scotland and the UK as a whole, attracting inward investment and diversifying exposure to the traditional offshore sector.

The WavEC Seminar 2015 will take place on the 16th of November in Lisbon, Portugal and the B2B meetings at the French Embassy the day after.

These two events offer the opportunity to gather with several entities of the sector and allow attendees to have access to updated and quality information.

The theme of the meeting, entitled “Portugal and France: A driving force on research and innovation in Marine Renewable Energies”, is in partnership with the French Embassy and Institut Français. The event is supported under the high patronage of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Portugal, with the presence of French, Portuguese and European top experts of the sector.

The following issues will be discussed:

– State of the Art in Portugal and France

– WavEC’s Competences and National and International Partnerships

– Actual Industrial and Technological Capabilities and Future Prospects

– European, French and Portuguese Vision and Development Support to the Sector

The Seminar will focus on the Portuguese supply chain that has obtained know-how through the development of several marine renewable energy (MRE) projects.

The visions of the European Commission, France and Portugal (both from the public and private sector) and the actions planned to start in order to stimulate the sector, as well as the multidisciplinary activities of WavEC will be highlighted in this Seminar.

Registration can be done online by following this link.

The EU accounted for only 5.8% of the world’s energy production in 2013, compared to China with 19.2% and the US with 13.8%, according to the EU’s latest statistical energy pocketbook. Meanwhile, the EU consumed 12% of the world’s total energy, China accounted for 22.4% of energy consumption and the US 16.1%.

The latest statistics reveal that, in 2013, Ireland, Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta were the most fuel import dependent EU countries with over 80% of their energy imported. Denmark, Estonia and Romania were the least import dependent with less than 20% of their energy imported.

Other figures show that in 2013 the EU imported 39% of its natural gas from Russia, 29.5% from Norway and 12.8% from Algeria. For crude oil, 33.5% came from Russia, 11.7% from Norway, 8.6% from Saudi Arabia and 8.1% from Nigeria. Overall in 2013, the EU’s import dependency for all energy products was at 53.2%, rising to 65.3% for natural gas alone and 64.6% for hard coal.

In 2013, the renewable energy share in gross final energy consumption reached 15% for the whole of the EU, and the primary energy intensity – a measure of energy efficiency calculated as units of energy per unit of GDP in 2010 – decreased by about 15.6% from 2005 levels.

The 2015 statistical pocketbook covers a whole range of energy statistical data and indicators including energy intensity, carbon intensity, renewable energy shares, energy efficiency, employment and EU country profiles.

Mojo Maritime has developed a marine project planning system called Mermaid to give companies a better understanding of the impact of weather and tidal forces on a project’s schedule.

The company said the aim is to enable enhanced decision making in the early planning stages.
The Mermaid – Marine Economic Risk Management Aid –software simulates marine operations against historical weather and tidal data to support cost-savings through project optimisation.

The system is undergoing testing with a number of clients, with a view to launching towards the end of October, Mojo said.

“The user acceptance testing phase is critical to ensure that that the function, capability and usability of the software has been tested in real world situations,” the company said.

Mojo senior analyst Rich Walker said: “By calibrating accurate weather information dating back over many years (typically between 10 and 23 years), factoring in wave height, sea conditions, wind strength and current velocity and direction, Mermaid enables companies to select the best vessels, ports, methods and processes to suit any proposed project start date.

“This has massive cost-saving implications for a huge variety of marine operations from the offshore renewable market to the oil and gas industries, as well as the shipping and insurance world.”

Wave energy developer Marine Power Systems is the first company to benefit from new Welsh government innovation funding of almost £225 000.

The money is part of a £115 million package announced last week to boost innovation in Wales, and create new products and jobs.

Marine Power Systems, which is based in Swansea, was formed to develop the WaveSub, a device that captures the energy potential of ocean waves.

The funding will go to develop the WaveSub technology and produce a prototype.

The prototype will be tested in Milford Haven and the results will inform the development of a full-scale version of the device.

Economy Minister Edwina Hart said: “I’m pleased to announce Marine Power Systems as one of the first beneficiaries of our new innovation funding.

This support has allowed them to create a prototype, which is critical to mitigating risks and allowing the further development of the product, which ultimately allows the company to move on to commercial sales.
“Wave energy has a huge potential as a source of renewable energy and I’m encouraged that one of our first projects is supporting advancement in this field.”

Marine Power Systems managing director Gareth Stockman said: “The Welsh Government has played an integral role in supporting the development of Marine Power Systems’ WaveSub device and we are very grateful to be one of the first companies identified to receive this innovation funding.”

In partnership with FloWave ocean energy research facility at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has started a programme to recreate scaled versions of Orkney’s seas in an onshore test tank.

This new technology and information gleaned will be used for development of the wave energy sector.

FloWave intends to use real-life data that has been gathered over years by EMEC’s Waverider buoys, radar and acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs), in order to replicate the complex sea states in the ocean test tank.

Developed in 2014, the 25m circular tank is the only one capable of integrating waves and tides.

EMEC managing director Neil Kermode said: “Our interest is in monitoring the conditions at a site, so that developers can use that data to aid their design process, and we can then validate the performance and potential power production of their technology.

Testing the technologies in the tank is expected to reduce or eliminate the risks and costs required for live testing of the technologies in the ocean.

FloWave CEO Stuart Brown said: “Testing full-scale ocean energy technologies at sea can be an expensive and risky business.

“The closer you can replicate real ocean conditions in the laboratory, the better you can refine your prototype and validate how it might perform, before testing part-scale or full-scale devices at sea.

“Ocean technology developers now have a clear pathway from the computer to the laboratory to EMEC and, if required, back to FloWave again.”

This test programme is also likely to help with the eventual commercialisation of the technologies, without the complications of real-world testing.

EMEC and Flowave initiated their collaborative research efforts in 2012 to develop the advanced wave energy converters.

SEAI, the Marine Institute and Commissioners of Irish Lights deliver Ireland’s latest marine research environment

Tuesday 11^th August 2015: A significant piece of ocean research infrastructure was brought to fruition with the completion of the Galway Bay underwater ocean observatory over the weekend.  Through the combined effort of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), the Marine Institute and Commissioners of Irish Lights the final piece of equipment has been deployed to give researchers and ocean energy developers unique insight into the Galway bay marine environment.  The observatory is now entering into a commissioning period and is expected to be operational in the coming months.

The ocean observatory will enable the use of cameras, probes and sensors to permit continuous and remote live underwater monitoring. Data from the equipment will be fed via an underwater cable, which was deployed last April, to the Marine Institute where analysis will take place.  Data from the observatory will also be available online through the Digital Ocean Platform under development by the Marine Institute.

The equipment has been installed in the Galway Bay test site, which is an area 1.5km off Spiddal pier and is used primarily to test small scale ocean energy devices. This observatory equipment will allow ocean energy developers to monitor how their devices are performing in the ocean as well as give ocean researchers unique real-time access to monitor ongoing changes in the marine environment.

Also deployed at the test site this weekend was a novel mooring tether developed by an Irish company ‘Technology From Ideas’. This technology reduces the impacts of rough seas on moored devices, thus making them cheaper to design and construct. It also reduces need for excessive ropes and chains for moorings, which reduces impact on the seabed and the environment.  The development and testing of the mooring tether is being grant supported by SEAI.

Declan Meally, Head of Emerging Technologies in SEAI commented:  “We are seeing lots of great developments in Ireland’s marine and ocean energy research facilities. The new Galway undersea ocean observatory will strengthen our offering and greatly assist the testing of new ocean energy technologies. Also, in helping the development of support structures, such as moorings, SEAI is ensuring that the supply chain for the offshore energy renewable sector is simultaneously progressing.”

Peter Heffernan of Marine Institute commented that: “It has been great to get the support of SEAI and Commissioners of Irish Lights in deploying this equipment. While the Marine Institute team has been driving this project, we have greatly benefitted from the close collaboration of all partners including SEAI, SmartBay Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and Marine Renewable Energy Ireland (MaREI). This collaboration places Ireland on a stronger footing internationally as we work together to advance our marine research and development capabilities.”

Yvonne Shields CEO of Commissioners of Irish Lights who provided the ‘ILV Granuaile’ for deployment of the equipment confirmed that: “Irish Lights is delighted to step in and provide support where required for this project. The Granuaile is a world class service vessel that is primarily used to service Ireland’s network of offshore navigation and safety aids.  The vessel and crew are experienced in handling difficult sea conditions and Granuaile is ideally placed to assist renewable energy deployment around the coast”.

The Galway Bay ocean observatory is part of a larger collaborative project between SEAI, the Marine Institute, University College Cork (Marine Renewable Energy Ireland – MaREI), SmartBay Ireland and Dublin City University to upgrade existing facilities at the Galway Bay test site.  The overall project has been funded by Science Foundation Ireland and is due to be completed this year.

In association with Oxford University’s Department of Engineering Science, UK-based Kepler Energy has developed Transverse Horizontal Axis Water Turbine (THAWT) technology, which can generate tidal energy in shallow water.

The horizontal axis turbine can be economically installed underwater at depths of up to 30m.

Once operational, it can eliminate expensive set-ups of large dams and barrages, and reduce unpredictability of the results, reports Reuters.

Testing of the second-generation tidal turbine has indicated that it has a higher potential than existing axial flow designs.

THAWT is equipped with carbon composite hydrofoil blades, and has been designed for use in shallower, lower velocity tidal waters, unlike convention propeller-type turbines, which have large blades that limit their deployment to waters of at least 30m-deep.

The design is claimed to be a modified version of the vertical Darrieus wind turbine.

Oxford University civil engineering professor Guy Houlsby was quoted by the news agency as saying: “The original Darrieus turbine has blades that are parallel to the axis of rotation, and that means that the loads in the blades are carried entirely by bending of the blades.

“That results in very high stresses.

“The re-design that we’ve done changes the blades so that they form this triangulated structure, and that’s a very stiff and very strong structural form. And that means that the loads in the blades are principally carried by axial forces and that means that the stresses are much lower.”

According to Kepler Energy, the turbine design has minimal moving parts in the water, with the majority of its parts being installed in dry columns, such as the generator and other electrical equipment.

Generating units of THAWT include two sets of blades set on three columns, with a single generator between them.