Scotland is set to become home to the world’s largest wave power plant, as the country looks to harness the potential of ocean energy. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), ocean energy has the potential to produce around 80,000 terawatt hours of sustainable electricity each year, but so far only a fraction of this has been achieved through the use of wave and tidal turbines. However, a new project in Scotland is set to change this, with the installation of the world’s largest wave generator, the OE35.
The OE35 is being developed by Irish company Ocean Energy, in partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology (IEE), and is set to be installed on the Orkney Islands. The generator has already been tested in the Pacific Ocean, but due to low wave heights, it was only able to achieve 500 kilowatts of its maximum 1.25 megawatt capacity. However, the higher waves in Scotland are expected to allow the generator to reach its full potential, with project leaders anticipating a capacity of around one megawatt.
The Orkney Islands are already home to three other wave power plants, which each have a capacity of 1.5 megawatts, as well as a two megawatt tidal power plant. The OE35 is 38 metres wide, 18 metres deep and 9.5 metres high, and weighs 826 tonnes. Its unique design allows waves to push water into the lower section of the generator, displacing air which then drives a turbine. As the water flows back out, the air is drawn back in through a pipe, driving the turbine once again. With the potential to produce significant amounts of sustainable energy, the OE35 is a promising development in the field of ocean energy.
