ScottishPower Renewables has announced the purchase of a Pelamis ‘Sea Snake’ wave power machine to be deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) off Orkney in summer 2011.

The project will test second generation 750kW Pelamis P2 technology and will be a key stepping stone towards wide scale deployment of wave power. Both companies will work closely together to complete rigorous tests which will characterise and optimise the performance of the machine.

Alan Mortimer, Head of Policy at ScottishPower Renewables, said: “This project will play an important role in turning Scotland’s marine energy potential into a reality. Just last week a number of very large wave and tidal power schemes were announced by The Crown Estate off the northern coast of Scotland, including ScottishPower Renewables’ plans to install 66 Pelamis machines off Marwick Head. The experience gained from the project we are announcing today will play a vital role in facilitating Marwick Head thereby speeding up the growth of this new sector.

“The project has been supported by the Scottish Government’s WATES grant support scheme which has been key to facilitating the project. Utility funding and expertise are also essential for the success of marine energy and we hope our project will help to drive the whole sector forward. Wave and tidal power generation offers huge potential for significant environmental and economic benefits, and today’s announcement will help to strengthen Scotland’s leading global position in marine renewables.”

The 750kW Pelamis P2 machine will be built at Pelamis Wave Power’s facility at Leith Docks before being towed to EMEC for testing.

The Pelamis P2 is the first ‘second generation’ wave energy machine to be developed and tested and will be 180m long, around 50m longer than the existing Pelamis machines. It is expected to be considerably more efficient than the first generation system and is expected form the basis for commercial deployments in the future.

Ends

Notes to editors:

• The Crown Estate recently awarded ScottishPower Renewables two major marine power development areas in the Pentland Firth. The company will develop a 50MW wave power project at Marwick Head using Pelamis machines, and a 95MW tidal power project at Ness of Duncansby.
• ScottishPower Renewables is part of Iberdrola Renovables, the largest wind energy company in the world with an installed capacity of close to 11,000 MW at the end of 2009, and a pipeline of over 57,400 MW.
• ScottishPower Renewables is the largest generator and developer of onshore wind power in the UK. The company had over 800 MW of installed capacity at the end of 2009, and a pipeline of 5,115 MW.
• Recently, in partnership with Vattenfall, ScottishPower Renewables was awarded the rights to develop a major offshore windfarm off the coast of East Anglia by the Crown Estate, which has the potential to produce up to 7.2GW of electricity. The company is currently developing its first offshore windfarm, with a two-thirds stake in the 500MW West of Duddon Sands project, as well as holding the development rights to a site west of Argyll and the island of Tiree that has the potential to generate anywhere between 500MW to 1800MW of electricity.
• Pelamis Wave Power Ltd (formerly Ocean Power Delivery) has been developing and proving the Pelamis wave energy converter since 1998. PWP has delivered a number of key milestones for the emerging wave and tidal sector including the world’s first export of power from an offshore wave energy converter at EMEC off Orkney in 2004, and securing the first commercial supply contract for wave generators which were successfully commissioned in the world’s first wave farm in Portugal in 2008.