Finnish wave energy developer Wello has joined the consortium of the SafeWAVE project which aims to overcome the non-technological barriers to marine renewable energy.
The SafeWAVE project will work to improve knowledge on the environmental effects and risks of wave energy through the collection, processing, analysis and sharing of environmental data around devices operating at sea and modelling of cumulative impacts of future larger scale deployments.
Wello’s Penguin is soon to make it to the BiMEP site in the Bay of Biscay to start a round of continuous two-year deployment and testing period.
During this time, the data from the Penguin and the surrounding ecosystem will be collected and analysed for SafeWAVE. The acoustics of the device, seabed integrity, EMF and fish communities shall all be monitored during the project.
The project will also look at other wave energy technologies and will conduct monitoring similar to that of the Finnish developer, though the Penguin will be the most extensively tested device during its deployment at BiMEP, according to Wello.
The goal of the SafeWAVE project is to share knowledge and to better inform decision-makers to possible environmental risks, reduce environmental consenting uncertainty, the development of country-specific licensing guidance and suitability maps for wave energy developments for most of the EU countries in the Atlantic Arch.
The project will work collaboratively with coastal communities to co-develop and demonstrate a framework for education and public engagement of marine renewable energy.