Marine Power Systems (MPS) has signed up to demonstrate a multi-megawatt wave energy array at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland.
The Swansea-based marine energy developer will bring its first commercial scale array demonstration to two berths at EMEC’s Billia Croo wave test site, off the west coast of Orkney, in 2025 to 2026.
MPS’s PelaGen wave energy converter (WEC) has an energy capture mechanism that enables energy to be harnessed during the heave and surge of a wave, EMEC said. Each device is designed to capture over a megawatt of power.
The PelaGen WECs will be deployed on MPS’s modular floating platform, PelaFlex. Based on a tetrahedral design for stability, the platform has a low overall steel mass with only 10 primary, and four distinct, parts.
The rigorous sea conditions and grid connection at EMEC’s Billia Croo test site will enable MPS to test its device in seas with some of the highest wave energy potential in Europe while exporting any electricity produced during the demonstration program into the UK national grid, EMEC said.
“We are thrilled to be demonstrating our first pre-commercial array at EMEC. The project represents another significant step forward for the business and our progress towards market readiness,” said Gareth Stockman, chief executive officer of MPS.
“This array demonstration will support the ongoing development of our technology and its functionality to ensure that the commercial arrays delivered at increasing scale represent the most robust, reliable and cost-effective devices on the market. The project will also deliver further research and development around manufacturing and the real-world deployment of our technology at commercial scale.”
