Wave Hub has created the world’s largest test site for wave energy technology by building a grid-connected socket on the seabed 16km off the coast, to which wave power devices can be connected and their performance evaluated.
The complete system underwent its first full test yesterday when it was connected to the grid network via a new substation that has been built at Hayle, where Wave Hub’s 33kV cable comes ashore.
“We’ve been continually testing the integrity of the whole system during the installation process but yesterday was the first time it was fully energised and plugged in to the grid, and I’m delighted to say that it went without a hitch,” said Wave Hub’s general manager Guy Lavender, speaking at the RenewableUK annual conference and exhibition in Glasgow. “From today the system will be permanently energised and monitored, so Wave Hub is well and truly open for business.”
The penultimate stage of Wave Hub’s installation is expected to be completed today when the last of 177 concrete ‘mattresses’ is laid on top of the subsea cable. The 25km cable is buried under the seabed to around 5km offshore and thereafter has been covered with 91,000 tonnes of rock. The mattresses are being laid at regular intervals on top of the rock to ensure the cable is secure.
Next week a marker buoy will be installed to record Wave Hub’s position, and that will be the final part of the physical installation.
The £42M Wave Hub project has been developed by the South West RDA (Regional Development Agency) and is a cornerstone of its strategy to develop a world class marine energy industry in South West England and the UK.
There has been some speculation about Wave Hub’s future given that the South West RDA is due to be abolished by March 2012. However, g Lavender said that the future of the project and its ongoing operation are not in doubt, with the project fully funded and commercial customers being sought.
“What we don't yet know is who will own the asset when the RDA is gone, and that is being discussed,” he said. “But that has no impact on Wave Hub's continued role as a vital facility for the development of the wave energy industry in the UK and overseas.”
Wave Hub’s first customer will be Ocean Power Technologies, using its PowerBuoy wave energy converter.
Wave Hub consists of a 12-tonne steel chamber on the seabed in 55m of water some 16km offshore connected to land via an armoured subsea cable. The chamber splits the main subsea cable into four 300m ‘tails’, each of which serves one of the four berths available at Wave Hub.
The project holds a 25-year lease on an 8km2 area of sea, and each berth measures 1km by 2km. The Wave Hub site boasts one of the best wave climates in Europe and the system has a capacity of 20MW, but is designed to be scaled up to 50MW in the future.
Wave Hub is being funded with £12.5M from the South West RDA, £20M from the European Regional Development Fund Convergence Programme and £9.5M from the UK government.
