Lewis bounces back with wave farm plan

As Greenbang mentioned the other day, the Scottish government has pulled the plug on a proposed wind farm on the Hebridean Isle of Lewis. However, those plucky islanders have just yoinked another green energy ace from their sleeve in the form of npower renewables and Wavegen submitting plans to build a wave power station off the coast of Lewis.

The scheme — the Siadar Wave Energy Project — would see npower and Wavegen team up to become the first project to operate under the Scottish government’s Marine Supply Obligation. For those of you sitting at the back of the class, that’s the initiative the Scottish government has created to encourage the development of the first generation of wave energy power stations.

If their plans come to fruition, the station in Siadar Bay would generate 4MW of electricity – enough to power 1,500 homes on Lewis and neighbouring Harris.

Construction work could start in 2009 if the Scottish government give the project the thumbs up.

The plan, which would involve building a breakwater to house the Wavegen turbines, is a first generation design. If all goes well, the companies want to use the Siadar project as a showcase for wave power, paving the way for large scale wave farms around the UK.

Says Wavegen CEO Matthew Seed:

“This project builds on the reliable technology proven at the Limpet plant on Islay, grid connected since 2000, and to be installed in Ente Vasco de la Energia’s Mutriku project, in the Basque Country, Spain. Wavegen has identified further UK locations for this type of plant, and we will be working with npower renewables to start making wave energy a real contributor to government renewable energy targets.”