A unique new wave energy capture device will be deployed in a multi-megawatt demonstration array in Orkney.
Designed to harness energy during the heave and surge of a wave, the PelaGen device from Swansea firm Marine Power Systems (MPS) will be demonstrated at the European Marine Energy Centre (Emec) in the northern Scottish islands.
Designed to each have a capacity of more than 1MW, the wave energy converters have a hydrodynamic shape and a simple structure with only two major components, the absorber and nacelle.
The devices will be deployed on the PelaFlex modular floating platform. Based on a tetrahedral design for stability, the platform has a low overall steel mass, with only 10 primary and four distinct parts.
The first commercial-scale array will be installed in two berths at Emec’s Billia Croo wave test site in 2025-26. With an average significant wave height of 2-4m and extremes of up to 20m, the site has some of the highest wave energy potential in Europe, while a grid connection will enable electricity generated during the demonstration programme to be exported into the UK national grid.
extracted from IMechE website - read more here