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Wave Hub seeks more developers

February 8 2006

More wave device developers are being sought for the proposed £20 million Wave Hub project of the coast of South West England.

The South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA), which is developing the project, has already identified three companies that want to use Wave Hub following a first round of interviews in December 2005.

It believes that other device developers will now be sufficiently advanced with their projects to meet the Wave Hub's requirements and is seeking further expressions of interest.

Wave Hub will provide a leased, consented and grid connected area of sea within which arrays of wave energy conversion devices (WECs) can be tested over several years.

This will enable the companies involved to gain experience of operation and maintenance, and build up a record of performance that can be used for future commercialisation.

Wave Hub project manager Nick Harrington said: "Having worked on the project with our three existing device developers over the past year we are sufficiently advanced to seek further expressions of interest."

Mr Harrington added: "Wave Hub can accommodate up to four device developers at any one time and we're looking for companies whose technology is now reaching the point where an array of devices can be financed and deployed over several years. We see the project as complementary to EMEC, which tests single prototypes. Wave Hub is aimed at companies that want to move into full-scale pre-commercialisation testing of several full scale devices."

Developers will be granted a lease for approximately five years of a sea area of two square kilometres. A sub-sea transformer will be provided with capacity to deliver up to 5 MW into the local distribution network.

The RDA made consent applications to the UK Government in June of last year and a decision is expected by May. The Department of Trade and Industry is investing £4.5 million in the project with the balance expected to come from the RDA and the European Regional Development Fund.

Wave Hub is expected to be operational by the summer of 2008.

For full details contact Wave Hub project manager Nick Harrington at the South West RDA at nick.harrington@southwestrda.org.uk. The deadline for expressions of interest is Friday 2 March 2007. The RDA will then invite for interview the companies likely to meet the project's requirements. Interviews will be held in Bristol, UK, on Thursday 29 March 2007.

Notes to editors

  1. The South West of England Regional Development Agency is planning to create the world's first large scale wave energy farm by constructing an electrical 'socket' on the seabed around 10 miles (18.5 km) off Hayle on the Cornwall coast in South West England. It has committed £2.5 million to the development of the £20 million project.
  2. Called Wave Hub, it will allow developers of wave energy devices to test new wave energy technology. Groups of wave energy devices will be connected to Wave Hub and float on or just below the surface of the sea to assess how well they work and how much power they generate.
  3. Wave Hub will be connected to the National Grid by a 15.5 mile (25 km) cable linked to a new electricity substation at Hayle. It could generate 20 MW of electricity, enough power for 7,500 homes or 3% of Cornwall's domestic electricity needs.
  4. Three wave device developers have already been chosen to work with the South West RDA on the project following interviews conducted in December 2005. They are Ocean Power Technologies Limited, Fred Olsen Limited and WestWave, a consortium of E.On and Ocean Prospect Limited, using the Pelamis technology of Ocean Power Delivery Ltd.
  5. Wave Hub is expected to establish South West England as a world-leader in the development of wave energy technology, potentially creating hundreds of jobs in the future.
  6. The South West RDA is investing in a range of demonstrator projects in the wave, tidal and biomass sectors to promote the development of renewable energy in South West England.
  7. The South West RDA has applied to the UK Government for planning permission to build Wave Hub with a decision expected by May this year.
  8. The Department of Trade and Industry has committed £4.5 million towards the project. The balance is expected to come from the South West RDA and the European Regional Development Fund through the Convergence Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
  9. Once all funding and consents are in place, it is expected that Wave Hub would be operational by the summer of 2008.

For further information contact:

Jason Clark
Deborah Clark & Associates
01872-276276
jason@dclark.co.uk

Nick Harrington
Wave Hub Project Manager
01752 234830
nick.harrington@southwestrda.org.uk