IRELAND LOOKS TO GET INTO THE WATER

Catching the global ocean energy wave; With continuing State support, energy from the sea could be key to our economic future
Lorna Siggins, October 23, 2009 (Irish Times)

"…Ireland, Scotland and the southern ocean in Antarctica have some of the most energetic wave locations on the globe…The awarding of €4.3 million in funding from [Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI)] to 10 Irish ocean energy companies…for continued research and development is a signal in difficult fiscal times that the Government is very committed to the sector…

"…Ireland’s renewable energy potential in wave power could surpass Denmark’s achievements in wind…The industry – which has recently formed its own lobby group, the Marine Renewables Industry Association (MRIA), for companies involved in both wave and tidal energy development – is certainly more upbeat than it was six months ago. Then it seemed that a €26 million ocean energy plan… was mired in bureaucracy."

Look at that resource! (click to enlarge)

"That plan included development of an ocean energy unit…and the introduction of a new feed-in-tariff for wave energy of €220 per megawatt (mW) hour…It also allocated €1 million towards University College Cork’s (UCC) national ocean energy facility…and €2 million to develop a grid-connected wave energy test site at Annagh Head/French Point… [N]orth Mayo’s exposed coast…has some of the most energetic waves among Atlantic seaboard counties…

"Interest in wave and tidal energy is not new here, but was given a fresh impetus…[by the development of ] the McCabe wave pump…[Ireland’s] estimated practical wave energy resource [is] greater than 6,000mW [and Ireland could meet its own domestic needs, and also export electricity generated by offshore wind, wave and tidal energy] but…wave converters…must be capable of surviving extreme weather, which could prove costly…[T]idal energy outputs [are] more predictable and regular, but could have limited resource potential…[In 2005] a quarter-scale wave energy test site was established…and two companies – Wavebob…and Ocean Energy – completed trials…"

From juhani via YouTube

"The international race to develop the technology sustained a setback almost a year ago. Scottish company Pelamis had located what was billed as the world’s first commercial wave farm off the coast of Portugal. It had already installed a full-scale prototype and generated electricity…However, the three Pelamis wave energy converters, capable of generating 75kW of power each, hit technical problems several months after their deployment in autumn 2008 and had been towed ashore…The company…also [encountered] financial problems…Meanwhile…[a] Finavera Renewables…test buoy was lost off the Oregon coast…[However] Finnish wave energy technology firm AW-Energy has signed a $4.4 million (€2.93 million) contract with the EU…[Its] “WaveRoller” unit, which has a nominal capacity of 300kW, is to be deployed off the Portuguese “wave capital”, Peniche, and connected to the grid. [Wavebob…has been developing US links…[and] OpenHydro, which has also established international links with British energy supplier EDF and Nova Scotia Power, recently shipped a 10-metre open-centre turbine…to the Bay of Fundy in Canada…

"The big issue for the sector remains the cost of power generation. According to media reports, Scottish firm Aquamarine Power expects to sell its wave energy device at “less than $6.5 million per megawatt installed”, a figure that compares to “about $1.5 million per megawatt installed” for wind energy…[But] Ocean Energy’s chief executive John McCarthy…believes the correct technology could create up to 20,000 jobs and boost [Ireland’s] export earnings…"