European Marine Energy Centre News

Wave energy converter developer Bombora Wave Power (Bombora) has completed tank testing of a floating foundation system suitable for the InSPIRE solution, where Bombora's mWave technology is combined with a wind turbine onto a single floating offshore platform.An adapted version of the semi-submersible INSPIRE platform, developed in partnership with TechnipFMC, underwent tank testing evaluations to confirm the system loads and dynamics at the FloWave test facility at the University of Edinburgh.Head of Loads and Modelling at Bombora…

International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN body, announced that a major five-year project to help protect marine biodiversity has been kick-started at a global workshop at IMO Headquarters in London, United Kingdom (18-20 March).The IMO-executed GloFouling Partnerships project will address bioinvasions by organisms which can build up on ships’ hulls and other marine structures. The project is a collaboration between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and IMO.Representatives from 12 lead partnering countries, four regional organizations, IOC-UNESCO, the World Ocean Council and…

Spanish tidal energy developer Magallanes Renovables is testing its tidal technology on a test site at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland.The successful installation of their second generation (2G) 2MW tidal platform ‘ATIR’ took place on 16th February and marks a major milestone in the Ocean_2G project, which aims to test, validate and pre-certify Magallanes’ device, said a release from EMEC.The ATIR was built and launched in Vigo, Spain in 2017, where it underwent a structured test programme to optimise the system, ensuring the device performs at its best.After this successful period of testing, the ATIR was towed from Spain to Orkney in September 2018.After months of careful planning and close working between the project partners…

Swedish floating wind turbine player SeaTwirl has joined the Ocean Energy Scale-Up Alliance (OESA) that has been granted funding from the Interreg North Sea Region.SeaTwirl is a vertical floating wind turbine that was tested off the west coast of Sweden in 2011. It is also the name of the company that produces the turbine.OESA, which is coordinated by the Dutch Marine Energy Center, has been granted funding from Interreg North Sea Region for a three-year project which aims to accelerate the deployment of large-scale ocean energy pilots in the North Sea.13 partners are tied to OESA, where eight of the partners will provide services for the pilot projects of the remaining five.The service providers are Dutch Marine Energy Center…

CorPower and Sustainable Marine Energy join forces for a wave and tidal developer collaboration to develop and demonstrate generic foundation mooring solution to reduce cost and improve O&M methods.The 35-month UMACK (Universal Mooring, Anchor & Connectivity Kit Demonstration) project will address ocean energy affordability, survivability, reliability and installation through the demonstration of a generic anchor-foundation-mooring-connectivity system which aims to reduce capital and installation costs by up to 50%.UMACK is being funded by Scottish Enterprise and the Swedish Energy Agency with co-funding from the OCEANERA-NET COFUND (via the European Commission under Horizon 2020).UMACK brings together leading wave and tidal energy developers…

The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has provided a series of metocean data sets to be used in a new Scottish open innovation competition aiming to stimulate creative thinking and data science to design new data products for the benefit of the marine environment, communities and economy.Organized by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Data Lab, Scotland’s Blue Growth Data Challenge will make available data sets from 2015 in-situ observations and numerical modelling from EMEC’s wave and tidal energy test facilities in Orkney.The data sets include wave conditions at EMEC’s Billia Croo wave test site; meteorological observations in two locations adjacent to EMEC’s wave and tidal test sites…

ClassNK has launched a feasibility study for a new marine renewable energy testing facility to be built in Singapore. The announcement was made at the 2014 Asian Clean Energy Summit held in Singapore on 28-29 October 2014. The study will pave the way for the establishment of the world’s first marine renewable energy testing facility to be located in the tropics. Demand for renewable energy has soared in recent years, fuelling high expectations for the use of marine renewable energy. Many governments around the world are already implementing policies to attract new marine renewable energy installations, and the large scale implementation of new renewable energy technologies is under consideration.

The Commission has awarded over €1.2 billion to 23 innovative renewable energy technology (RES) projects. The projects cover a wide range of renewable energy technologies from bioenergy (including advanced biofuels), concentrated solar power and geothermal power to wind power, ocean energy and distributed renewable management (smart grids). The projects will be hosted in 16 EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The project comprises a floating offshore 26 MW wind farm located 50 km from Marseille. Thirteen wind turbines will be installed on 13 moored floating structures which will transfer power to an onshore substation connected to the grid.

'Wave & Tidal Energy Analysis to 2030 for US, Canada, the UK, Portugal, Australia and Republic of Korea (South Korea)' report issued. Governments are embracing marine power as they attempt to combat climate change & an increasing dependence on fossil fuel and the UK has huge potential for marine power and is considered the most attractive destination to develop marine projects in Europe. Development in the ocean energy sector could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, create direct and indirect employment, and lead to the economic development of coastal areas. It shows that the marine energy industry is in the emerging stages of development, and the UK is home to the R&D resources needed to further develop these power generation technologies.

The sale is expected to complete within the next few months, subject to closing conditions. About Tidal Generation Ltd. 1.    Rolls-Royce will sell TGL to Alstom UK Holdings Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alstom. 2.    TGL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc that is managed and reported in the Energy business segment. 3.    In September 2010 TGL’s 500kWe tidal stream turbine concept demonstrator unit was deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre’s (EMEC) offshore test site, off the Orkney Islands in Scotland, and generated over 200 megawatt hours of electricity supply to the grid. It was the first EMEC located project to receive Renewable Obligation Certificates.

Scotland's foremost energy economist to tell “All Energy” Aberdeen conference that plans for a controversial demonstrator wind farm in Aberdeen Bay could enable Scotland to take a global lead in the development of offshore wind energy. According to a 'Scotsman' news report, Donald Trump, who is threatening to pull the plug on his £750 million golf resort development in Aberdeenshire because of the plans for the “monstrous” 11-turbine offshore development, warned First Minister Alex Salmond earlier this month that his drive to establish Scotland as a renewables powerhouse will “single-handedly” destroy the economic wellbeing of Scotland.

Alstom and SSE Renewables signed a new joint venture agreement to develop the Costa Head Wave Project, an up to 200 MW wave energy site located north of mainland Orkney, in The Crown Estate’s Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Strategic Area. Alstom and SSE Renewables will work together to obtain the necessary permits and intend to populate the site with AWS-III wave energy converters, a technology currently under development by AWS Ocean Energy Ltd, in which Alstom acquired a 40% equity share in June 2011. The Costa Head site is located in water depths of 60 – 75m approximately 5km to the north of Orkney Mainland. SSE Renewables and Alstom propose to carry out detailed site surveys and an environmental impact assessment (EIA)…

Businesses will have the chance to learn more about the marine energy opportunities for the Orkney and Pentland Firth waters at an event in Caithness on Tuesday 5 April. Organised jointly by North Scotland Industries Group (NSIG), Caithness Chamber of Commerce, Orkney Islands Council, The Crown Estate and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), the event is open to members and non-members and will be held at North Highland College, Thurso from 10am to 4.30pm. John Thurso MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross will be the keynote speaker.