Finnish wave developer Wello’s Penguin device has arrived in the Cornish port of Falmouth following an eight-day tow from the European Marine Energy Centre off Orkney.
The Penguin departed Kirkwall Hatston Quay on 11 January and was towed by Orkney-based contractor Green Marine.
The 1MW wave converter will be deployed at the Wave Hub test site later this year as part of the EU Horizon 2020-backed Clean Energy from Ocean Waves project. A further two 1MW devices will be manufactured and deployed to complete a wave energy array.
Green Marine director Jason Schofield said: “Due to careful planning and having an excellent weather window for the passage, the tow was completed successfully within eight days from departure to arriving safely in Falmouth.”
The Penguin device, which has no external moving parts, is based on converting the movement of the waves to rotational kinetic movement inside the device by using the asymmetric shape of the hull. It will now be modified ahead of installation and grid connection in the summer.
Wello chief executive Aki Luukkainen said: “We are excited to start working with Falmouth Dockyard to prepare the device for a long-term deployment at Wave Hub. I am confident that with help of the other CEFOW partners and local supply chain we will deploy on schedule and start generating power.”
Other project partners are Mojo Maritime, Uppsala University, Plymouth University and the University of Exeter.
The Horizon 2020 fund granted €17m of the project’s total €24.5m budget.
Image: Penguin wave energy device (Wello)
Cornwall picks up a Penguin
Wello wave device transported to Wave Hub ahead of summer installation
By EBS