Developers of potential new wave energy technologies have, today, been given access to the first set of data about the wave energy climate off the north Cornish coast from the Wave Buoy project, funded by the npower Juice Fund.

Regen SW, the renewable energy agency for the South West of England, initiated the project in January 2005 to help speed up the installation of the UK's first wave farms to generate clean electricity.

The data gathered from the Wave Buoy will help wave energy device designers, and potential investors, understand the environment within which demonstration wave energy projects might operate, while enabling more accurate predictions about the amount of clean energy that could be produced.

The buoy, which records waves, tidal current and the presence of marine wildlife shows strong wave energy potential in the area with an average wave height (Hmax) of 2.3m over the three-month period. The largest wave recorded (Hmax) was 8.8m (or 28 ft) high on the 13 February 2005. Wave Buoy continues to collect data at its location in the South West, identifying the great potential that lies in the Atlantic.

The Wave Buoy is moored at the proposed site of the south west Wave Hub - an electrical 'socket' that could be located approximately 20 km off the Cornish coast, to which arrays of wave energy converters could be connected. Development undertaken by Regen SW has proven the feasibility of Wave Hub and further detailed work is underway to enable Wave Hub to be commissioned in mid 2007.

Before the Wave Buoy project, wave energy predictions had been estimated by computer models using Met Office data. The new data collected will provide more accurate information about tidal and wave environments to help establish wave energy devices off the north Cornish coast within the next three years.

Stephen Tindale, Executive Director of Greenpeace UK, said:

"The challenge of climate change grows ever more urgent. We need a massive deployment of clean energy technologies if its worst effects are to be avoided. So it's great news that wave power is moving closer to reality off the Cornish coast, and Greenpeace is proud to have been part of it."

Andy Duff chief executive RWE npower said:

"The data received from Wave Buoy is extremely important and goes a long way in proving the viability and feasibility of wave farms off the Cornish coast. npower is proud to have funded this project through the npower Juice fund and we look forward to seeing developers utilising the data. It is important to us and our Juice customers to encourage the development of new renewable technologies such as wave power to help in the fight against climate change."

"The Government has set challenging targets for the development of renewable energy. Onshore wind farms, hydroelectric power stations and biomass projects will help us meet the short term targets of supplying 10% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2010. We also need large scale offshore wind farms and marine technology to be developed as quickly as possible to meet long term renewables targets."

Matthew Spencer, chief executive of Regen SW said:

"This is the most detailed wave data ever collected off the Cornish coast and it confirms that we have a hugely powerful energy resource. We are providing this data to wave device developers from around the world and encouraging them to come and develop the first wave farms in the South West of England."

Any developer wishing to obtain the data should email Regen SW on admin@regensw.co.uk

Editors Notes

1. RWE npower is a leading integrated UK energy business. It generates electricity and supplies gas, electricity and related services to around 6 million customers through its retail business npower. The company operates and manages a flexible portfolio of power stations through its operations and engineering arm, and is a market leader in renewable energy development and operation through its wind and hydro business npower renewables. For more details see www.rwenpower.com and www.npower-renewables.com

back

top