Marine Power Systems (MPS) is set to demonstrate a multi-megawatt wave energy array at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland.
The Swansea-based company will bring its first commercial-scale array demonstration to two berths at EMEC’s Billia Croo wave test site off the west coast of Orkney in 2025-2026.
The PelaGen wave energy converters (WECs) will be deployed on MPS’ modular floating platform PelaFlex. Based on a tetrahedral design to provide enhanced stability, the platform has a low overall steel mass with only 10 primary and four distinct parts, the company said.
According to MPS, the rigorous sea conditions and grid connection at EMEC’s Billia Croo test site will enable the testing of the device in seas with some of the highest wave energy potential in Europe while exporting any electricity produced during the demonstration program into the UK national grid.
“We are thrilled to be demonstrating our first pre-commercial array at EMEC. The project represents another significant step forward for the business and our progress towards market readiness,” said Gareth Stockman , CEO at MPS.
“This array demonstration will support the ongoing development of our technology and its functionality to ensure that the commercial arrays delivered at increasing scale represent the most robust, reliable and cost-effective devices on the market. The project will also deliver further research and development around manufacturing and the real-world deployment of our technology at commercial scale.”
Last year, MPS signed a berth option agreement with EMEC for the deployment of two multi-megawatt WaveSub wave energy converters at the Billia Croo wave test site.
The aim is to support the development of the device and its functionality to ensure that the commercial arrays delivered at increasing scale represent the most robust, reliable and cost-effective devices on the market.
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