Laminaria, a Belgian wave energy developer, has signed a contract with the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) to test its wave energy converter off Orkney.
The agreement was signed on December 15, 2015, and the testing is planned to take place at EMEC’s grid-connected wave test site at Billia Croo, off the west coast of Orkney, Scotland.
Laminaria’s technology, a surge operated attenuator, is constituted from vertical surface that interacts with the incoming horizontal wave energy.
As a result of the horizontal movement in the water the Laminaria WEC is subjected to a tilting and translating motion, which is transferred through the mooring ropes to the generators.
Scale sea trials are already underway in Belgium to inform the design for the full-scale device that will undergo performance testing at EMEC in 2017, EMEC’s press relase reads.
Neil Kermode , EMEC’s Managing Director, said: “We’re delighted to now announce that Laminaria will be testing their Flemish wave energy converter at EMEC, and look forward to working with them, and seeing the technology further develop as they move from Ostend to Orkney.”
Laminaria’s CEO, Steven Nauwelaerts , said: “By combining the expertise built up in Scotland over the last decade and the novel approach of Laminaria, we can put wave energy on the road to success. The aim is to create a win-win situation by supplying the Scottish grid with clean reliable energy and creating employment in Flanders in the development and construction of the devices.”
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