€9m wave project to power 15,000 homes
What is claimed to be the world’s first commercial wave power project opened off the coast of Portugal this week.
The €9m Aguçadoura project is the first of a series experimental wave energy projects by the Ondas de Portugal (Waves of Portugal) consortium, which is made up of Babcock & Brown, Energias de Portugal and Efacec.
British company Pelamis Wave Power is providing the equipment for the Aguçadoura project, which it has a 23 per cent share in.
Aguçadoura will generate power using three Pelamis wave energy converters – semi-submerged structures made up of cylindrical sections linked by hinged joints – located about three miles off the coast.
The second phase of the project will see the manufacture and installation of a further25 wave power machines, bringing the power capacity up to 21MW.
When it’s complete the project is expected to produce enough electricity to power more than 15,000 Portuguese households and displace more than 60,000 tonnes per year of CO2 emissions from conventional power plants.
Phil Metcalf, CEO of Pelamis Wave Power, said at the inauguration of the project this week:
“We see this project as an important strategic step to underpin continued commercial growth and technological development. We can certainly predict that Portugal will benefit substantially from taking this visionary lead in developing its wave energy resources.”
The full press release is here.
