Wave energy developer, CorPower Ocean, has signed a berth agreement to build a 5MW wave energy project at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland.
Scheduled for deployment in 2029, the 5 MW array will be deployed at EMEC’s grid-connected Billia Croo wave energy test site and comprise 14 wave energy converters (WECs), operating for up to 15 years.
The WECs have a 9 metre diameter spherical composite hull which d responds to passing waves. CorPower say’s its WaveSpring technology amplifies the motion and power capture in regular sea states. It has a storm protection system that locks down the device during extreme conditions and enables offshore access for maintenance.
This is CorPower Ocean’s second project at EMEC, following testing its C3 WEC at EMEC’s Scapa Flow test site in 2018 through the Wave Energy Scotland programme.
Since then, CorPower Ocean has demonstrated its C4 device off the coast of Portugal, surviving storm waves over 18m high and producing electricity for the Portuguese grid.
The hull and other subsystems for the array project are due to be built in Orkney, reducing transport costs and carbon emissions while creating skilled jobs and supporting the local supply chain. Local vessels will be used for low-cost loadout and towing to site.