Danish developer Wavepiston has installed the first full-scale versions of its wave energy device at the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) test site in Spain.
PLOCAN was chosen by Wavepiston because of the test infrastructure in place including necessary environmental approvals.
The access to the test site is subsidised through a grant from the Interreg AA Blue-GIFT project, which is funded by the European Commission.
Interreg AA Blue-GIFT aims to support Atlantic area companies to test next generation ocean energy technologies in real sea environments.
The prototype was assembled in the Port of Las Palmas and towed to PLOCAN’s test area.
Wavepiston said the system comprises a chain of wave energy collectors stretched between two anchored buoys, the company said.
The current set-up is a pre-installation where they are testing two energy collectors.
The first full string with 24 energy collectors is planned to be installed in the autumn.
The plates of the collectors move when waves roll along the system, pumping pressurised sea water into a pipe leading to a turbine or a reverse osmosis system, in order to obtain energy or desalinated water.
Wavepiston chief executive Michael Henriksen said: “We are very pleased to be in the water at PLOCAN with a pre-installation where we are testing two energy collectors.
“Based on the experience from the pre-installation we plan to install the first full string with 24 energy collectors in the autumn.
“Through the test infrastructure and services of PLOCAN we are setting out to demonstrate our capabilities at full scale, and to be ready for the commercial phase by 2023.”