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N e w s
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Press Release 30 July 2008
Jim
Mather, MSP, Scottish Government Minister for Enterprise, Energy
and Tourism today officially started the new Wavegen 100kW
turbine which will be deployed in future wave energy projects
worldwide.
The 100kW
turbine was developed with support from the Scottish
Government’s WATES (Wave and Tidal Energy Support) scheme.
Mr Mather was
visiting Wavegen’s LIMPET facility, where the 100kW turbine is
installed, near Portnahaven on the island of Islay in his Argyll
and Bute constituency. LIMPET is the world’s first
commercial-scale, grid-connected wave energy plant, and has been
in operation since 2000. Mr Mather was joined by senior
executives from RWE Innogy and Voith Siemens Hydro Power
Generation (Wavegen’s parent company).
The startup of
the 100kW turbine is a major step forward for the Siadar Wave
Energy Project (SWEP), under development by npower renewables (RWE
Innogy’s UK operating company) on the isle of Lewis. npower
renewables submitted planning applications for the SWEP in April
2008. The SWEP would harness power from the Atlantic waves in
Siadar Bay to generate up to 4 megawatts of electricity, using
forty Wavegen 100kW turbines. The energy produced each year
could supply the average annual electricity needs of around 1500
homes on Lewis and Harris. If plans are given the go ahead by
the Scottish Government, building work could start as early as
2009. The project could generate up to 50 construction jobs for
local people and would take 18 months to complete.
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Jim Mather,
Scottish Government Minister for Enterprise, Energy and
Tourism commented: “The Scottish Government is determined to
help make Scotland a world leader in the development and
deployment of wave and tidal technologies.
I am delighted to be in Islay today to see the investment from
WATES come to fruition for myself, and this advanced renewables
project is more evidence that wave energy will bring real
results and benefits for businesses in Scotland as we move
towards cleaner energy sources.”
Dr Roland Muench,
CEO of Voith Siemens Hydro commented: “With this new turbine
Wavegen has extended the range of application for wave energy
plants to include more energetic and hence more economically
attractive environments.
I am confident the reliability demonstrated in other proven
turbines will be continued in this 100kW turbine, and I look
forward to seeing turbines deployed in Siadar and many other
projects. Voith Siemens Hydro sees ocean energy as a growth
sector, and this is reinforced by worldwide interest in our
products.”
Kevin
McCullough, Chief Operating Officer of RWE's renewable-energy
unit RWE Innogy
said: “This is a significant step forward in realising our
ambitions of developing the SWEP at Siadar. It is a great
opportunity to see the technology in action and optimise its
performance before it's used commercially."
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