Seabased, a Swedish wave energy company, has teamed up with Infocom Connect to provide wave power for commercial projects in the Canary Islands, off Spain.
The partnership will begin with a project for a pilot 5MW installation to provide energy for a desalination plant, but could expand to address multiple energy needs, from automobile recharging stations to supplying the grid, Seabased said.
Óscar Sanchez, Executive Manager of SBH Hotels and Resorts company, which is one of the largest private companies in the Canaries, is behind the wave energy desalination project. Sanchez’ family also owns a desalination plant with a capacity of 5,000 cubic meters.
Sanchez said: “I am deeply invested in the future of the Canary Islands and am excited about the potential of wave energy in this area. We have slightly less than 3,000 square miles of land mass and it makes perfect sense to get our power from the waves.
“I see enormous potential of using wave energy not just for specific projects, like desalination, but ultimately to provide power for hotels and the grid itself, which should be less expensive than fossil fuels.”
Infocom Connect, a telecommunications company that operates largely in the Middle East, Africa, and India, is moving into the renewable energy industry. The company has deep relationships in parts of the world that are ideal candidates for wave energy because of the wave climate and limited options for renewables, Seabased noted.
Øivind Magnussen , CEO of Seabased, said: “This project in the Canaries represents a great opportunity that could be replicated and scaled. We’re delighted to have a partner like Infocom Connect, because much of the early work of introducing the world to wave energy, such as site selection and permitting, happens through local relationships.”