The Scottish ministers have approved the installation of the largest in the world wave power station near the northwest coast of Lewis in Scotland. After it is finished the 40 MW power station will have the capacity to power up nearly 30,000 homes.
The wave energy company Aquamarine will be able to begin the installation of the „oyster“ machines in the next few years – right after the necessary infrastructure has been put into place.
Between 40 and 50 of the „oyster“ devices will be launched along the coastline near Fivepenny Borve, which is considered to be one of the best locations for manufacturing electrical energy from tidal waves in Europe.
Aquamarine Power is in the process of testing their second full-size model, known as Oyster 800 in the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkny and they are delivering energy to the grid at the moment.
The CEO of Aquamarine Power Martin McAdam says: „Our development may bring a meaningful economical contribution to the local community. In Orkny, for instance, we have spent over 5 million GBP in the local economy during the installation of the first two devices and we have worked with over 40 local companies as a part of our promise to supply the large portion of the services and expertise we need from the locals.“
Scotland has 10% of the European wave energy potential and 25% of the marine wind potential and the tidal wave potential.
The Director of the World Wild Nature Fund in Scotland Lang Banks says: „This news is an amazing thrust for the Scottish marine sustainable energy sources and will put Lewis firmly on the world map when it comes to wave energy.“ Banks also noted, that if Scotland wants to be a leader in the marine sustainable energy resources sector, the problems with the infrastructure and the high costs of power delivery to the islands must be solved.