:: Groundbreaking Venture for Wavegen      

EMBARGO:0001 on Monday 7 July 2003 (released April 2004)

A groundbreaking venture looks set to confirm Scotland’s reputation as the world leader in wave energy with the development of a wave power station built into a tunnel on a cliff face.

Inverness-based Wavegen is joining forces with SEV, the Faroese electricity company, to bring wave energy to the Faroe Islands, a self-governing region of the Kingdom of Denmark situated in the Atlantic, north west of Scotland and halfway between Iceland and Norway.

The Boards of both companies have agreed to form a joint venture company to oversee the initial design and engineering phase of the project with a value of £600,000.

Phase two will see the construction of the wave power station using a series of Wavegen’s air turbine power generation modules in a project worth up to £7m.

This will form the blueprint for wave power stations in similar locations both in the Faroes and other parts of the world.

George Lane, Wavegen’s Managing Director, said: “We’re delighted this venture has taken off as it brings together world-class expertise in wave energy from Scotland and the tunnelling experience of the Faroese.

The combination of these two technologies is a logical and powerful next step in the commercialisation of Wavegen’s shoreline wave energy converters.”

The Inverness-based company is a world leader in wave energy. It developed and now operates the world’s first commercial scale, grid connected, wave power station on Islay, off the west coast of Scotland.

The Faroese device will be based on the existing oscillating water column technology utilised in the Islay plant.

The key innovative feature will be the use of tunnels cut into the cliffs on the shoreline to form the chamber which captures the energy.

The new design offers a novel and complementary approach to shoreline devices that is completely unobtrusive and well protected.

The Faroese currently meet their electricity needs through a mixture of diesel-powered generators, hydro electricity and wind power.

They are keen to develop other green energy sources but face particular challenges with on-shore wave power due to the high cliffs which surround the islands.

Work is now under way to form the joint venture company and establish the detailed project specification.

END

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