ScottishPower Renewables’ Pelamis machine arrives in Orkney
Posted on: Monday 7th November 2011
The Pelamis machine which was constructed for customer ScottishPower Renewables at the Pelamis Wave Power headquarters in Leith, Edinburgh, began its journey to Orkney at the weekend. After a successful tow out of the Firth of Forth and up the east coast of Scotland, it reached its destination of Lyness, on the island of Hoy, this Monday afternoon (7th November).
Photo: The ScottishPower Renewables’ Pelamis machine is moved within Leith harbour on Saturday 5th November, showing the Royal Yacht Britannia in the background
The machine will be installed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, alongside the E.ON machine as part of a unique cross-industry collaboration project. The two machines will operate in tandem as a two-machine wave farm, with information gathered from the trials used to support the development of larger commercial-scale projects currently under development by both ScottishPower Renewables and E.ON off the coast of Orkney.
ScottishPower Renewables’ machine is one of the second generation Pelamis P2 machines. The P2 design builds on the extensive experience that Pelamis Wave Power has accumulated over more than ten years through the design, manufacture and operation of four full-scale P1 machines. The E.ON Pelamis was the first P2 machine to be constructed – this second machine built for ScottishPower Renewables is similar in design and appearance. Both measure 180m long and are 4m in diameter. Each of these Pelamis machines is rated at 750kW, and will provide enough power over the course of a year to meet the average electricity demand of 500 homes.
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: “Scotland is continuing to lead the world in the development of wave and tidal energy, with a quarter of Europe’s tidal stream and a tenth of its wave energy potential. As the last of our WATES funded projects, this is a significant milestone and is evidence that public funding is helping developers exploit that resource, enabling the marine energy sector to go from strength to strength. This latest development further reinforces the growing momentum in marine renewables across Scotland and the breadth of activity taking place at the world-leading European Marine Energy Centre.”
Photo: The ScottishPower Renewables’ Pelamis machine arrives in Orkney
The ScottishPower Renewables press release about the launch of the Pelamis machine can be read here.
