Latest Orkney-bound wave energy device unveiled

The latest wave energy device bound for Orkney was unveiled today by First Minister Alex Salmond at a ceremony at Burntisland Fabrications’ yard in Methil, Fife.

Aquamarine Power’s Oyster 800 hydro-electric wave energy converter will be transported by sea from the Firth of Forth to the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Stromness for installation later this summer.

A jack-up barge is currently stationed at EMEC’s Billia Croo test site, just north of Stromness, and has begun drilling piles into the seabed to provide foundations for the device.

The installation of the Oyster 800 will see it fixed to the seabed around 500 metres from the shore.  This will be followed by a commissioning process which will see it connected to an onshore hydro-electric generator via subsea pipelines.