Isra-Mart srl : Aquamarine and Pelamis set sail with new wave energy projects

www.isra-mart.com

Isra-Mart srl news:

Up to 50MW of new wave energy projects off the coast of Scotland have been approved by the Crown Estate, raising fresh concerns over the lack of a Western Isles interconnector to export surplus electricity to the mainland.

Aquamarine Power announced today that it has secured leases from the Crown Estate to deploy 30MW of its Oyster wave energy converters off North West Lewis and a separate 10MW demonstration lease for an area between Siadar and Fivepenny, known as the Galson site.

Vattenfall and Pelamis also confirmed today that they have been awarded a lease agreement to take forward the 10MW Aegir wave farm off the south west of Shetland.

Aquamarine is planning to install up to 40 Oysters across both sites along a 2km coastline, potentially generating up to 40MW - enough energy to power 38,000 homes.

However, the company will need to secure planning consent from Shetland Islands authority Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and government regulator Marine Scotland before any development can take place.

Welcoming the news, council leader Angus Campbell said that Aquamarine Power's project bolstered the need for a Western Isles interconnector, a project which was last year put on hold by Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission (SHET).

The link would allow the new sites to export any surplus electricity to the mainland. However, SHET, a subsidiary of Scottish and Southern Energy which owns a 45 per cent stake in Aquamarine, last year indefinitely deferred the start of work on the cable, arguing that its cost should be underwritten by developers.

Campbell told the BBC: "2018 is being talked about for the installment of devices. That is just seven years away. Seven years ago we thought we would have an interconnector within two years. We cannot sit back and say that timescale will allow for a connection to be put in place. Action needs to be taken now."

Aquamarine also confirmed plans to enter the Lewis site for the Scottish government's £10m Saltire Prize, which will be awarded for the wave or tidal technology which generates the greatest volume of electrical output over 100GWh over a continuous two-year period using only the power of the sea.

The news, which is the latest in a string of announcements from a renewable energy conference in Aberdeen this week, represents another step forward for the UK's fledgling marine power sector.

The Crown Estate said that it plans to award further marine power agreements for lease in September, and invite applications for a third round of leases in October.

Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth John Swinney welcomed the announcement of the leases as a further boost to Scotland's fast-expanding marine energy industry.

"These projects further confirm that Scotland is the world-leading destination for marine energy development and deployment. The vast majority of wave and tidal projects in the UK and Europe are in Scotland, and new projects in Lewis and Shetland show the continued growth, talent and confidence in Scotland's marine renewables industry," he said.