Vattenfall and Orkney-based European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), a leading Scottish research center for marine energy, have signed an agreement for a new test site. The goal is to have the latest generation test machine from Pelamis installed in 2014. Vattenfall also wants to contribute to the development of the European wave energy industry.
Scottish high winds are an important asset for Vattenfall and the company is investing heavily in wind energy both onshore and offshore. The sea off the islands of Orkney and Shetland are well suited for wave energy.
Vattenfall already has a joint venture with Scottish wave energy technology company Pelamis, Aegir Wave Power, where Vattenfall owns 62%. The goal is to build a wave energy farm with 11 Pelamis wave energy converters with a total installed capacity of 10MW off the south-western Shetland coast.