Feature 3 | ENVIRONMENT AND RENEWABLE ENERGY
Commercial wave power project
goes live
An international consortium is being backed by the Portuguese government
to develop commercial wave power project.
he project, slated as being the Pelamis wave
world’s first to concentrate on power project
Twave power on a commercial offshore Portugal
scale, is a joint venture 77% owned by three (credit: Pelamis
promoters comprising global specialist Wave Power).
asset manager, Babcock & Brown, Energias
de Portugal and Efacec, with Pelamis Wave
Power Limited (Pelamis) of Edinburgh
owning the remaining 23%. The total
project investment is purported to be
around €9 million (US$12.8 million).
Th e wave power project was inaugurated
by the Portuguese minister for economy,
Manuel Pinho, at a ceremony in
Aguçadora, on the Portuguese coast on “We expect wave links the several connected devices to the
23 September. Th e project forms part of
a broader partnership that was agreed
power to become
shore. Depending on the wave resource,
the Pelamis production machines can
by Babcock & Brown, EDP and Efacec,
a widespread
produce 25-40% of the full rated output
named the Ondas de Portugal consortium over the course of a year.
(Waves of Portugal), and will focus on the
renewable energy
Th e second phase of the project will
development of experimental wave energy
technology and
involve the manufacture and installation of
projects. The association enables the a further 25 machines and bring the total
development of a Portuguese wave energy
look forward to
installed capacity to 21MW, displacing
cluster, which will be able to promote
electricity production projects with
the benefi ts that
60,000 metric tons of CO emissions in the
2
process. Th e generators are to be located 3
complementary equipment development
investing at this
miles off the Portuguese coast.
and manufacturing units.
early stage will
Technology
Power
Th e fi rst phase of the Aguçadora project
bring.”
Current production machines in installation
are 140m-long, 3.5m in diameter, with three
involves generating power using three power conversion modules per machine.
Each machine is rated at 750kW. At the
750kW Pelamis wave energy converters core of each power generation system is a
(PWEC), which are semi-submerged, customised ABB generator.
articulate structures composed of European head of infrastructure at
cylindrical sections linked by hinged Babcock & Brown, Antonino Lo Bianco,
joints. Hydraulic rams that pump commented: “Wave power offers huge
high-pressure fluid through hydraulic potential, not just for Portugal, but for
motors via smoothing accumulators resist many countries around the world where
the wave-induced motion of the hinged the harnessing of an inexhaustible supply
joints. Th e hydraulic motors in turn drive of wave energy will produce a clean, zero
electrical generators to produce electricity. carbon energy domestically. We expect
Th e generators are custom-designed by wave power to become a widespread
ABB. Power from all the joints is then fed renewable energy technology and look
Sea trials of Pelamis wave energy down a single umbilical cable to a junction forward to the benefi ts that investing at
converters (credit: Pelamis Wave Power). on the seabed. A single seabed cable then this early stage will bring.” OMT
24 Offshore Marine Technology 4th Quarter 2008
OOMT_4Q08_p24+25+26.indd Sec1:24MT_4Q08_p24+25+26.indd Sec1:24 110/20/08 2:31:51 PM0/20/08 2:31:51 PM
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