Bombora Wave Power has awarded a contract for pre-installation surveys at East Pickard Bay for its mWave wave energy device demonstration.
Bombora Wave Power hired a Dorchester-based company Shoreline Surveys for the scope of work which consists of planning and mobilizing a survey vessel and completing pre-installation hydrographic and geophysical surveys at the mWave’s East Pickard Bay deployment site.
The primary objective of the surveys is to locate an area within the site that meets the design requirements and is clear of debris and unexploded explosive ordnance (UXO).
The contractor is also required to compete a survey of the cable route, according to Bombora Wave Power.
Bombora Wave Power is currently finalizing testing and assembly phase for its mWave device, said to be the world’s most powerful wave energy converter, rated at 1.5MW.
The final assembly process will be completed on the quayside in Pembroke Dock in the coming months before loadout to the operational site at East Pickard Bay, where the technology will be validated in the open ocean, advancing it to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7/8 – meaning the device prototype has been demonstrated and qualified in an operational environment.
East Pickard Bay is one of the three marine energy test sites in and around the Milford Haven Waterway, forming a part of the Marine Energy Test Area (META) , Wales’ national test center, which secured the lease for the sites from The Crown Estate back in August 2021.
Offering moderate to high energy areas for operational ‘real-sea’ testing, the East Pickard Bay site is suitable for the demonstration of wave and floating offshore wind components .
The mWave wave energy device is comprised of a series of air-inflated concave cells covered with rubber membranes and mounted into a steel foundation structure.
The device weighs 900 tonnes, and is 75 meters long, 15 meters wide and 6 meters high. According to Bombora Wave Power, the mWave cell modules can be configured to suit fixed-bed nearshore foundation systems, or floating offshore ocean energy systems.
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