Pelamis Wave Power has been selected as one of just two technology developers to progress to the next stage of a competitive procurement process with Irish utility ESB for the deployment of Pelamis wave machines on the west coast of Ireland.
Pelamis is one of only two technology developers to have reached this stage of the project shortlisting.
WestWave is a 5MW capacity project led by ESB, which has secured €23.5m of NER300 funding from the European Commission. With proposed delivery of the wave farm by 2018, WestWave will be Ireland’s first wave energy project.
Richard Yemm, Chief Executive of Pelamis Wave Power , said:
“We’re delighted to have been selected by ESB for the next stage of the WestWave procurement process as they better understand their technology options. We firmly believe that Pelamis technology offers compelling advantages in terms of both power capture and survivability, in addition to a quick, safe and cost effective approach to off-site maintenance. We look forward to working with ESB in the coming months as they progress through the site development process and refine their technology requirements.”
Brendan Barry, Manager of ESB Emerging Energy Technologies , said:
“The WestWave project is a significant first step towards capturing a share of the huge wave resource off the west coast of Ireland. The project was set up as a collaborative consortium of technology developers and partners and we’ve been able to pool some of the greatest expertise in the sector in order to pave the way for commercial wave power projects in Ireland. We’re excited to be moving into this final detailed engineering and consenting phase.”
Pelamis Wave Power has been involved in the WestWave project as a technology partner since the first WestWave Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 2010 and has been contributing expertise and information to the collaborative project since then, along with other technology developers and industry partners working together to develop Ireland’s wave power industry.
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