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Wave simulation
Swedish utility officially opens its first office in Scotland marking deal with
world leading wave power company
.
Pelamis Wave Power, the Edinburgh technology developer, and Vattenfall, one of the
largest utilities in Europe, launched a joint-venture today to develop the first wave power
project off the Shetland Islands.
The launch of the joint-venture, called Aegir, was announced the same day that
Vattenfall’s new office in Edinburgh, and the first in Scotland, was officially opened by
the First Minister, the Rt Hon Alex Salmond MP, MSP.
Aegir has been set up to explore wave power development opportunities in Scottish
waters and plans to deploy Pelamis Wave Power’s second generation ‘P-2’ wave energy
convertor on the developed site.
Aegir is keen to identify and confirm a potential site off the Shetland Islands’ west coast
and make progress towards installing a project up to 20 megawatts in scale. This would
make the project a potential candidate for the Saltire Prize, the Scottish Government’s
marine power innovation award.
Dr Helmar Rendez, the Head of Group Function Strategies at Vattenfall, which
incorporates the research and development arm of the European energy company, said:
“Vattenfall intends to make electricity clean by 2050 and halve its carbon emissions by
2030; this means we must invest in the green energy technologies of today and
tomorrow.
“The partnership with Pelamis allows us to work on developing a site that will prove very
productive when we make wave power a commercial reality. We are pleased to tie-up
with Pelamis and take this project forward as we have big hopes for the future of wave
power and see Scotland as a good place to do this.”
Neels Kriek, the new Pelamis Wave Power Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to
be working with Vattenfall on this ground breaking project which we hope will be one of
many for our Scottish built P-2 Pelamis machine. We also anticipate this project being a
leading candidate for the Scottish Government’s Saltire Prize for commercially proven
wave power technology.”
Aegir is working towards installing a first phase, multi-machine array, with an installed
capacity of up to 20 megawatts (MW). Vattenfall’s ambition is for wave power projects to
grow to the scale of offshore wind projects and the Aegir project is seen as a key
stepping stone to that ambition and the opportunity that exists in the Shetland Isles. The
2
first phase will be installed by 2014 if planning consent is gained and the planned subsea
cable between the Shetland Islands and mainland of Scotland is constructed.
A programme of engagement with Shetland islanders is already underway and Clare
Lavelle, the Project Manager with Pelamis and Aegir, underlined the commitment to
effective engagement by saying: “We will work closely with Shetland islanders right
through this process to identify and develop the best possible project because we
recognise that this cannot be done without the support of the people and businesses of
the Shetland Islands.”
About Aegir Wave Power Ltd
Aegir Wave Power Ltd is a 51%/49% joint venture between Vattenfall AB’s and Pelamis
Wave Power. The joint venture agreement was concluded in December 2009.
The Aegir Chief Executive is John Price and the Project Manager is Clare Lavelle.
www.vattenfall.com
www.pelamiswave.com
Aegir is a sea god, or king of the sea, in Norse mythology.
About Pelamis Wave Power
Pelamis Wave Power is headquartered in Leith, Edinburgh. Established in 1998, the
company employs ~70 staff and is one of the UK’s largest renewable energy technology
manufacturing companies.
The company was the first to generate electricity into the UK grid from offshore wave
energy in 2004, the first to secure an order for a multiple machine project and the first to
operate a wave farm anywhere in the world, in 2008. It is currently building its next
generation machine, the P-2, which will be deployed at the European Marine Energy
Centre in 2010.
Deployed as multiple units in ‘wave farms’, each Pelamis machine can produce sufficient
electricity each year to meet the equivalent annual average electricity demand of ~500
UK households.
About Vattenfall AB
Vattenfall, celebrating its centenary this year, is a European energy company owned by
the Swedish State. It is the fifth largest generator of electricity and largest generator of
heat in Europe.
Vattenfall Wind Power UK is a business unit of Vattenfall developing and operating wind
farms on and offshore. It currently has 90MW of installed offshore wind capacity
generating electricity and 450MW under construction. Onshore 41.4MW is under
construction in Scotland and 150.4MW going through the Scottish and English planning
3
systems. Last year Vattenfall Wind Power entered into a joint-venture with
ScottishPower Renewables to explore opportunities in offshore wind.
Vattenfall believes that ocean energy will be the next renewable technology to be
commercialised within 10 to 15 years. As part of this we have initiated a Research and
Development programme in ocean energy. The aim of Vattenfall’s Ocean energy
Programme is to meet the demands and expectations of our customers and support our
strategic direction “making electricity clean”. We are currently developing expertise in
deploying, operating and maintaining wave power plants. We want to gain experience in
performance, survivability, reliability, and operation and maintenance costs. We also
want to acquire ocean sites where conditions are especially favourable to try out wave
energy equipment. Challenges that lie ahead are grid connections, permitting processes,
operational and maintenance, and the harsh marine climate.
About wave energy
Scotland has an excellent wave energy resource with an estimated 14GW of practically
exploitable energy from the waters around Scotland. Recognising the need to drive
forwards wave power deployment and associated cost reductions from economies of
scale, the Scottish Government recently amended the Renewables Obligation Scotland
to provide an enhanced revenue stream for wave energy to facilitate utility sector
investment in wave power projects
The Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) has estimated that
1,300MW of marine power could be installed by 2020, creating 7,000 direct jobs and
leading to a substantial export market.
To establish wave power in Scotland is therefore one step in the right strategic direction
for Vattenfall.
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