Top news, December 3 – 9, 2018

MarineEnergy.biz has compiled the top news from marine energy industry from December 3 – 9, 2018.


Orbital Marine inks Welsh tidal array deal

Scottish tidal technology developer Orbital Marine Power has signed an agreement to demonstrate its floating tidal technology at the Morlais Tidal Energy Project, in Anglesey, North West Wales.

The agreement with Menter Môn, the not for profit developers of the Morlais tidal project, sets out plans for a commercial scale tidal array of Orbital Marine‘s recently unveiled ‘O2’ 2MW tidal turbine.

Each 2MW unit planned for the array is capable of producing electricity equivalent to the demands of 1,500 typical UK homes, Orbital Marine said.

The Morlais project has secured a grid connection offer, and following completion of environmental assessments, a consent application is due to be submitted in mid-2019, the developers noted.


SIMEC Atlantis scores €1 million for MeyGen upgrades

SIMEC Atlantis Energy has signed a grant agreement with the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund for €1 million in funding to support its tidal turbine development program.

The grant will enable SIMEC Atlantis and its supply chain partner Asturfeito to enhance the existing 6MW MeyGen project.

It will support the innovations specifically focused on the turbine upgrades needed to use the subsea hub and shared export cable, the project consortium said.


Crestwing anchors wave energy device off Denmark

The wave energy plant from Crestwing, named Tordenskiold, has been anchored in place at Frederikshavn, marking the start of the prototype’s first offshore testing campaign.

On December 5, 2018, Crestwing pulled the anchor connection into the wave energy plant, securing the Tordenskiold to the seabed using its three-point anchoring system.

The aim of the planned two-year trial is to prove the plant’s anchorage and function at sea, and confirm the expected production of energy.


Wavepiston upgrades prototype. Signs up wave-desalination scheme

Danish company Wavepiston has over the last two weeks conducted upgrades on its wave energy prototype operating in the North Sea, and signed another project that will see its technology demonstrated in combination with desalination scheme in the Mediterranean.

The prototype version of Wavepiston device at the DanWEC test site at Hanstholm has been refurbished with larger plates mounted on the device’s energy collectors, the company informed.

Testing on the device, comprised of a steel wire stretched between two anchored buoys, will continue over first half 2019, Wavepiston confirmed.

In addition, Wavepiston has in the beginning of December 2018 singed a contract for a €4.9 million project planned for the Italian island of Sardinia, the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The project comprises an installation of a system that will both produce clean energy and fresh water from sea, according to Wavepiston.


Marine license clears Penguin’s way to Orkney

A marine license for the installation of a wave energy array consisting of three Wello’s Penguin devices has been granted for a project in Scotland, just as the optimized, newly-built, Penguin wave energy converter hit the waters in Estonia.

The second Penguin wave energy converter (WEC-2) is due to be towed to the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland, where it will be deployed alongside the Finnish developer’s original Penguin device.

The development follows the approval of a marine license, granted in November 2018, for the installation, operation and decommissioning of the three-WEC array and the subsea hub, the testing center informed.