News / Wave power firm looking for sites
A SECOND wave power company has been in Shetland to explore the potential of setting up a power station on the west coast of the islands.
On Friday Edinburgh-based Aquamarine Power met with the Shetland Marine Renewable Energy Group, which includes representatives from Shetland Charitable Trust, Shetlands Islands Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Natural Heritage and NAFC Marine Centre.
The company wants to identify a site to deploy its Oyster wave power device, which is currently being tested at Orkney’s European Marine Energy Centre.
Senior site developer Marc Murray said they were concentrating their attention on Shetland’s north west and south west coasts, which had the “best wave resource”, namely large and predictable waves travelling in a uniform direction.
The Oyster “flaps” back and forth, pushing water up pipelines onto a shore-based hydro electric power station, so it needs a stable seabed and low cliffs, he said..
Swedish energy giant Vattenfall are already working with marine energy firm Pelamis to create a wave farm using the Sea Snake off the Burra coast.
Both developments will not go ahead without the sub-sea interconnector cable to export power to Scotland, which has been promised if the Viking Energy wind farm is given the go ahead.
Mr Murray said that they had received a very positive response in Shetland to their ideas, which is no surprise considering the £2 million investment the company has made in Orkney over the past two years.
Their main focus at the moment is meeting people who can help them find the ideal spot to plan their wave station, he said.
Mr Murray can be contacted at marc.murray@aquamarinepower.com
Ann Black, who chairs the marine renewable energy group, welcomed the company’s interest and said they looked forward to working closely with them over the coming months to develop Shetland’s nascent marine energy industry.
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