By Sean Barrett, Ocean Energy and Abi McLean, EMEC
The WEDUSEA Project has been granted a marine licence by the Scottish Government Marine Directorate which allows for the installation of the OE Buoy and associated moorings at Berth 5 at EMEC’s Billia Croo wave energy test site in Orkney.
Securing the marine licence marks an important milestone for the WEDUSEA project, allowing preparations to progress towards the deployment and demonstration of the OE Buoy at EMEC.
WEDUSEA is a €19.6 million collaborative project bringing together 14 partners from industry and academia across Ireland, the UK, France, Germany and Spain. Co-funded by the EU Horizon Europe Programme and Innovate UK, the project aims to create a step change for the wave energy industry and support its progression towards commercialisation.
Supporting the consenting process
The Marine Directorate (previously Marine Scotland) is responsible for permitting and managing activities within Scotland’s seas on behalf of Scottish Ministers. Bringing together marine science, policy, compliance and licensing functions it also engages with NatureScot and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Its key duties including marine renewables, fisheries and protected species licensing.
EMEC has supported Ocean Energy throughout the consenting process, drawing on its extensive experience of marine energy deployments at its wave energy test sites to help inform the marine licence application.
Demonstrating the OE Buoy
The OE Buoy to be deployed at EMEC is a 1MW rated, unmanned floating oscillating water column device, developed by Ocean Energy. Its only moving part, the turbine rotor, sits on deck above the waves, while all electrical equipment is housed below deck in a sealed machine room.
As waves cause air trapped within the OE Buoy hull to oscillate, the airflow drives the turbine to generate electricity. This electricity will be exported to the grid via an underwater umbilical and export cable. The OE Buoy is extensively instrumented to support autonomous control of electricity generation, navigational safety and environmental monitoring.
Monitoring the marine environment
As a WEDUSEA partner, EMEC has developed an extensive environmental monitoring plan for the deployment, which will monitor the habitat above and below the water’s surface in the vicinity of the OE Buoy. The monitoring programme will begin before installation to establish a baseline of benthic and pelagic activity in the deployment area, helping to build understanding of the marine environment before, during and following deployment.
What happens next?
With the marine licence now in place, Ocean Energy can continue preparations for the installation of the OE Buoy and its mooring system at Billia Croo.
The upcoming deployment will enable WEDUSEA to progress its large-scale demonstration of the OE Buoy, building evidence to support the wider commercialisation of wave energy.
