Firms join forces to harness wave energy for 160,000 homes
Energy Minister Eamon Ryan, with Goran Dandanell, Vattenfall, left, and Harvey Appleby, Tonn Energy, admire a model Wavebob energy convertor in the Royal College of Physicians, Dawson St., Dublin, yesterday
IRELAND's bid to become a major player in exporting electricity produced by wave power got a boost yesterday.
Swedish utility giant Vattenfall announced details of a joint venture with Irish company Wavebob to build ocean wave generators which will produce electricity for 160,000 homes by harnessing ocean currents.
The joint-venture company, Tonn Energy, plans to develop the energy generators off the west coast, which could result in 5,000 high-end engineering jobs when fully operational.
Although Ireland is regarded as one of the best countries in the world to help develop wave power, the technology is in its infancy.
A buoy-like structure called a Wavebob, which produces the electricity, has been successfully tested and Tonn Energy hopes to begin generating commercially by 2013.
The device is 65 metres high, most of which is underwater, and will be refined to develop an offshore wave energy farm that will be connected to the national grid.
The Government wants 500MW of renewable energy to be in place by 2020, and if successful the Tonn Energy proposal would provide half that target. Each device generates 1.5MW -- enough for 1,000 homes.
"Ireland could be to wave energy what Saudi Arabia is to oil," Wavebob chief executive Andrew Parish said yesterday.
Energy Minister Eamon Ryan said the project could result in Ireland becoming an exporter of green energy.
Vattenfall will provide €1m, which will be used to install prototype devices at the national wave energy test site off the coast of Belmullet, Co Mayo.
- Paul Melia
Irish Independent
