Mainstay Marine to Build Bombora’s Wave Energy Device mWave

Mainstay Marine Solutions has won a contract for the fabrication and assembly of the main structure for Bombora’s wave energy demonstration device ‘mWave’.

Measuring 75m in length, Bombora’s 1.5MW mWave wave energy converting device harnesses the potential of marine energy in the form of pressure on the sea floor.

With Bombora’s initial design phase now complete, Mainstay will start fabrication of the all-steel structure imminently with delivery of the fully-assembled device to the company’s ro-ro slipway in spring of next year, ready for load-out and launching, the company explained.

Stewart Graves, managing director at Mainstay Marine Solutions said: “As major supporters of marine energy development and its potential for the future, we are delighted to have secured this contract.  Mainstay has invested heavily to establish ourselves as the ‘go-to’ company for marine energy fabrication projects.  Building such an innovative device of this magnitude is a great endorsement of our marine engineering capabilities and prospects for the future. The sheer scale of mWave positions itself as an exemplar project within our increasing portfolio of marine renewable energy projects.”

Bombora’s project is funded by a £10.3m European Regional Development Fund grant awarded by the Welsh European Funding Office.

The mWave features a series of membranes which rests beneath the ocean surface on the sea floor. As waves pass over the device, air inside the membranes is pushed into a duct and through a turbine to generate electricity.

Sam Leighton, Bombora’s managing director, added: “We are very pleased to be able to award our largest single contract to a company with solid roots in Pembrokeshire helping boost the local economy. The majority of our work to date has been awarded to local companies and there are many more opportunities for the local supply chain to benefit from this innovative project as we continue to roll out our contracting strategy. Mainstay has already successfully delivered our purpose-built test tank at Pembroke Dock. We look forward to them delivering a similar high-quality performance with this new contract.”

The mWave device will be installed at the Marine Energy Testing Area off the coast of Pembrokeshire for a 6-12 month test period starting in the summer of 2020.

This contract comes just weeks after the Mainstay announcement of securing a contract for the construction of another Wave Energy Converter demonstrating device for AMOG Consulting.