A new exciting technology to harness the power of waves and turn it into green energy was announced this week.
A giant machine called’ Oyster’ is being installed on the seabed of the Atlantic Ocan off Scotland’s Orkney Islands.
This autumn Oyster it will undergo demonstration trials to prove whether its innovative technology could lead to a commercial source of renewable energy for use in seashores around the world.
In contrast to many other wave power devices, Oyster uses hydraulic technology to transfer wave power to shore, where it is then converted into electricity.
“‘Oyster’ technology is highly innovative because it relies on simplicity. “says Dr Ronan Doherty, Chief Technical Officer of Aquamarine Power the Edinburgh based company which has developed the first ‘Oyster’. “Its offshore component -a highly reliable flap with minimal submerged moving parts – is the key to its success when operating in seas vulnerable to bad weather where maintenance can be very difficult. There is no underwater generator, power electronics or gearbox underwater to go wrong. All the complex power generation equipment remains easily accessible onshore’.
Although at an early stage of development, the Oyster concept could have significant potential for use in many locations around the world. Dr Doherty explains: ‘Our computer modelling of coastlines suitable for this technology shows that Spain, Portugal, Ireland and the UK are ideal candidates in Europe. But globally there is huge scope in areas like the North West coast of the USA and coastlines off South Africa, Australia and Chile. We estimate that the potential size of the market could be in excess of £50 billion’.
Based on figures from the Carbon Trust, each Oyster’s annual carbon saving could be as much as 500 tonnes.