14 DAY TRIAL // The 7th prototype created by Ocean Power Delivery Ltd, based in Edinburgh, has hit the water to undergo further testing. The Pelamis, as the prototype is called, has a power output similar to a modern wind turbine, and it's anticipated that in the future a "wave farm" will be built, of interlinked multi-machines, connected to shore by a single subsea cable. An installation that could occupy a square kilometer of ocean would produce about 30 MW, and could provide sufficient energy to power 20,000 homes. Twenty such "wave farms" could power a city the size of Edinburgh.
The Pelamis Wave Power Converter has suffered rough testing over the last ten years, before its launch on the commercial market, and is drawing world-wide attention.
The Pelamis is the result of years of study in the renewable and alternative power, and is using the tidal waves to convert motion into electric power. The main goal was to create an efficient power converter that would justify the investment in the building of the power plant. The company that created Pelamis was founded in 1998 by Dr Richard Yemm, and has received in 2007 the British Best Renewable Energy Company.
It consists of independent floaters, made out of cylindrical metal tubes, which pass the mechanical motion from the waves to an undersea power converter. The currently used Pelamis Wave Energy Converters are rated to produce 750 KW of energy, and are arranged in wave farm formation similar to the wind farm arrangements.
The first prototype was built by Shetland Composites, to test its efficiency and efficacy. It was equipped with sensors to gather data and its reduced prototype allowed great flexibility in the placement of the floating metal tubing. Due to the great success, the company has moved to creating new prototypes, and allowed its leap in the commercial market.
The company, through its innovative designs has drawn the attention, and support, of major international energy companies, trust and financial institutions such as Blackrock Merrill Lynch and General Electric, and partnerships with a number of countries.
Portugal will launch the first large scale wave farm, but there is still a lot of testing and refinement of the technology. Several countries, UK, France, USA, Spain, and others, are greatly promoting the Pelamis Wave Energy Converter technology.
