TechPulse 360

With the early results of a wave energy trial off the Scottish coast a qualified success, the company behind the ambitious effort has its sights set on bigger fish: building the world’s first power plant at sea.

Aquamarine Power of Edinburgh says the Oyster wave power device it installed in November off the stormy Orkney coast is generating energy, though not quite the full 300 KW it is capable of. Troubleshooting continues on several underwater valves and on the hydroelectric turbine onshore that converts motion to electricity.

The first generation Oyster wave power machine getting ready for a swim.

The repairs should be complete within a couple months, says CEO Martin McAdam. Meanwhile, the company is thinking fathoms ahead. The second-generation Oyster is earmarked for installation next year with almost 10 times the generating capacity of its predecessor.

On the drawing board is a third-generation machine designed to cut costs by more than half – to less than $3 million a MW – by taking advantage of mass production. The target date is 2014.

McAdam says this device will enable the company to become a substantial generator of electricity and give it the capability of building power plants at sea.

“Our goal is power-plant sized projects and that means we need to do hundreds of megawatts,” he said in an interview this week. “We will get there.”

Aquamarine Power’s early effort along the Scottish coastline is one of several key ocean energy trials taking place around the world. Another even more ambitious project intends to mine energy from the tides in the Bay of Fundy. Both are critical to an industry hoping to prove it can compete with solar and wind and become a substantial contributor of green electricity.

The Oyster works with an above water flap that rocks back and forth with the passing surf. Each dip pushes a hydraulic piston, forcing water down a pipe to shore where it powers the turbine. McAdam argues it is a superior design to other wave power devices because it generates more energy per mass – four times, to be exact.

The Oyster’s second-generation rectangular flap will be far more productive than the first because of flanges on either end to catch more of the wave.  “Our version two is really a big breakthrough,” says McAdam.

With the next several years key ones for ocean energy, the performance of innovations like those at Aquamarine Power will be closely watched. They hold the success of the industry in their hands.