Aquamarine Power Ltd press release
Directional drilling work is due to start this week at the European Marine Energy Centre’s (EMEC’s) Billia Croo site, four miles north of Stromness. The work is the first stage in preparation for deploying Aquamarine Power’s Oyster® wave power converter for full-scale testing next year. The directional drilling work will involve drilling three pipelines to connect Oyster’s hydro-electric plant in the EMEC substation, to the Oyster® device at sea.
Dr Sian McGrath, Head of Commercial Development at Aquamarine Power said: “We are delighted to be working with EMEC to deploy Oyster®, which will mean that the only hydro-electric wave power device of its kind will be delivering power to the grid in Orkney next year. We have been able to find skilled local contractors for a lot of the work we are doing, and we intend to continue working with local contractors as much as possible.
“Our team will work hard to complete this work as quickly as possible with the minimum of disruption to the area. Obviously, we want to cause as little inconvenience as possible to the local community. We have taken steps to keep works traffic going to and from the site to a minimum.
Aquamarine Power joined forces with Scottish and Southern Energy’s tidal subsidiary, Renewable Technology Ventures Ltd (RTVL) last year. The Edinburgh-based company is on track to be the first marine energy technology developers in the world to deploy both wave and tidal energy devices at EMEC.
The company’s pioneering technology programme has attracted a wide range of sponsors including Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Technology Strategy Board, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
