Swedish company CorPower Ocean has completed load-out and towing trials for its C4 wave energy device, ahead of upcoming deployment offshore Portugal.
As part of preparation for offshore installation at the Aguçadoura site in northern Portugal, the CorPower C4 system has been moved out from the quay-side ‘launchpad’ at the port of Viana do Castelo.
The company also informed the offshore towing trials have been completed using local tugs.
“These trials have proved the next steps of operations according to CorPower Ocean’s modular approach to delivering wave energy solutions at utility scale,” the company said in a statement.
In line with a suitable weather window, the C4 system will be towed out and deployed at the Aguçadoura site, located 30 kilometers south of the port as part of the HiWave-5 wave energy project.
The project will feature CorPower’s first commercial scale wave energy converter C4, which will form a four-system wave array off the coast Portugal, creating one of the world’s first grid-connected wave farms.
HiWave-5 is a collaborative project with Portuguese electricity company EDP, SimplyBlue Group and ENEL Green Power. It aims to deliver certified and warrantied wave energy devices to the market by 2024, which are envisaged to propel wave energy sector into the future green energy mix.
The grid-connected demonstration wave farm is expected to mark a step forward in making wave energy competitive with wind and solar by 2030.
