Renewable energy company E.ON has unveiled its first wave power generator in the UK – a 750kW machine designed and constructed by Pelamis that will be installed and tested at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.
The device – named the Vagr Atferd (Norse for wave power) P2 wave energy converter – was officially launched at a ceremony at Leith Port in Edinburgh by Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond. The installation of the converter at EMEC will be the first time that the P2 machine has been tested anywhere in the world and also represents the UK’s first commercial supply contract within the marine energy sector.
Funding to develop and test the P2 device was awarded to Pelamis from the Carbon Trust’s Marine Renewables Proving Fund.