Bilbao-based marine contractor Commercial Diving Activity (CDA) has retrieved a monitoring instrument installed at the Mutriku wave energy plant as part of the OPERA project.
The pressure sensor and data logger from Canadian manufacturer RBR was installed last November in front of the Mutriku wave power plant, in the Basque Country, Spain.
The wave instrument was recovered during the periodic inspection for data recovery and analysis, a Basque technology institute Tecnalia leading the OPERA project said.
The bespoke concrete base has fulfilled its seakeeping function as no displacement has been detected after enduring winter conditions, according to Tecnalia.
The operation was also used for seabed survey between the site where the pressure gauge is located and the Mutriku shoreline plant, providing important information for routing a cable which will enable real time communication with the plant.
Project OPERA (Open Sea Wave Operating Experience to Reduce Energy Cost) is a research project that aims to develop a technology that would reduce the cost of operating wave energy devices at sea for 50%, accelerate the development of international standards and reduce uncertainties and technological risks.
The project will collect and analyze data from the wave energy device operating at sea, at Bimep and wave energy plant Mutriku, for at least two years.