Upon granting approval, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism Fergus Ewing MSP claimed that it is a significant step for the wave sector of the country that houses 10% of Europe’s wave power potential along with 25% of its offshore wind and tidal power potential.
Aquamarine Power chief executive officer Martin McAdam remarked that the obtaining approval for the project is a milestone for the company.
With this federal approval in place, the company is gearing up to commence near-shore Oyster wave energy machines installation at the project site that is to continue for next few years.
The operations will include deployment of nearly 40 – 50 Oyster devices along the coast at Lag na Greine, near to Fivepenny Borve. It will have the capacity to power nearly 30,000 homes.
Currently, Aquamarine Power are conducting tests for its second full scale wave machine, Oyster 800, at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) located in Orkney.
Scottish Renewables chief executive Niall Stuart said: "However, we can’t forget that this is the kind of prize that could be lost unless costs for projects to connect to the grid on the islands are set at a competitive level."
