AWS OCEAN ENERGY

A project centered around the development of a subsea wave energy converter has taken another step forward after its two major constituent parts were joined together at a facility in Scotland.

According to a statement from AWS Ocean Energy on Wednesday, the assembly, which it described as “a critical milestone”, took place last week (25/06/2021). A “final hook-up” of internal systems is now taking place and commissioning and dry testing of the 16 kilowatt device, known as the Archimedes Waveswing, is expected to happen in early July.

The plan is to deploy and test the tech at the European Marine Energy Center in Orkney, an archipelago located north of mainland Scotland, later this year. The site for this testing will be in the sheltered waters of Scapa Flow.

The Waveswing — which has been described as a “submerged wave power buoy” — weighs 50 metric tons, has a diameter of 4-meters and stands 7-meters tall. The device, AWS Ocean Energy says, “reacts to changes in sub-sea water pressure caused by passing waves and converts the resulting motion to electricity via a direct-drive generator.”

Funding for the £3.4 million ($4.73 million) project has come from Wave Energy Scotland, which is itself funded by the Scottish government - link