Arup has been commissioned by Wave Energy Scotland (WES) to explore the opportunities for very large-scale wave energy generation.
The study will see Arup undertake analysis to seek out the opportunities for large scale devices, as well as identifying any fundamental limits. The review will also consider manufacturing limits and how to de-risk future large scale wave energy converters (WECs). This will consider capital costs for WEC structures and sub-systems as well as operations & maintenance costs. Very large scale is considered to be a generation capacity of more than 10MW.
A key consideration will be to draw parallels with offshore wind. Arup will identify and analyse opportunities for improved competitiveness of electricity generation from ocean waves with other offshore renewable energy sources by development of very large-scale wave energy converters.
“This is an exciting study to push the boundaries of wave energy development,” commented Jacob Ahlqvist, Project Manager at Arup. “Our role in this study will be to quantify the opportunities and inform future innovation to both Wave Energy Scotland and the wider industry.”
“This study will inform the debate of whether development at very large scale is desirable or necessary to achieve commercially viable energy generation,” added David Langston, Programme Manager at WES.
Arup will work with Cruz Atcheson Consulting Engineers and University of Plymouth to deliver the study with a final report and guidance produced later in 2018.
