Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has granted a marine license to US-based wave energy developer GWave for the installation of its device at Wave Hub, off UK.
GWave plans to begin with the installation works at Wave Hub site in Cornwall in May next year.
The first phase of the works will include the installation of anchor and mooring tails, which will be followed by the deployment of the 9MW wave energy device and the remaining mooring lines, planned for July 2018.
GWave’s power generation vessel is 72 meters long, 22 meters high, with the weight a little under 13,000 tons. It is being built in Louisiana, and will undergo nearshore testing in the Gulf of Mexico in 2018, before being shipped to UK for the installation at Wave Hub.
Its anchor system will consist of 6 anchor piles, each connected with the device via 50 meter chains.
The device is scheduled to remain operational at Wave Hub for 10 years, until decommissioning, planned for summer of 2028.
GWave’s device floats on surface of the ocean and pitches with the swells as the waves pass underneath. Inside the device there are weighs which swing in counter motion to generate electricity.
To remind, GWave hired James Fisher Marine Services (JFMS) to provide it with project engineering services for the installation of the device at Wave Hub.