It is currently the world's largest wave energy converter, which was built through a multi-party cooperation and will be tested off the coast of Orkney, Scotland, after receiving EU approval.
该项目名为“Wave Energy Demonstration at Utility Scale to Enable Arrays公用事业规模的波浪能示范阵列”（WEDUSEA），耗资1960万欧元，由欧盟资助，由法国、爱尔兰、德国、西班牙和英国的工业和学术界合作伙伴组成。
Wave energy converters (WEC) are the next frontier in clean energy technology. They can harness the huge kinetic energy in ocean waves as an electric energy source without the emissions that contribute to a warming planet.
Wave energy converters provide a way to harness energy all year round through relatively easy-to-execute projects.
The wave energy array will use the OE35 wave energy converter, a wave energy converter developed by Ireland company Offshore Energy that can also be connected to the grid. A wave energy converter is a floating device with the lower part open to the sea and a trapped amount of air at the top.
OE35
When the wave arrives, the water at the lower end of the WEC oscillates, pushing the air in the ducts to drive the turbine to generate electricity.
As part of the WEDUSEA project, the wave energy converter will be tested for two years at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) wave energy test site in Billia Croo, Orkney, Scotland, to demonstrate its technical prowess as well as withstand the harsh weather of Atlantic waters.
OE35
The European Centre for Marine Energy's submarine cable will carry electricity to the United Kingdom grid.
The WEDUSEA project is divided into three phases. In the first phase, the wave energy converter will be built according to the conditions at the European Centre for Marine Energy test site. This will be followed by a two-year demonstration phase, before the technology is commercialized using test data.
It is estimated that the annual production potential of potential wave energy worldwide is 30 TWh, which is about ten times the electricity consumption in Europe. The technology to realize this potential needs to evolve rapidly.