The lease area, which lies a number of kilometres offshore from Bettyhill in Sutherland, was identified by PWP in 2008, when the company secured a grid connection. Today’s announcement will allow the Scottish company to develop and deliver a Pelamis wave farm, with a capacity of up to 50MW, which would be sufficient to meet the electricity needs of some 25,000 homes.
PWP are no strangers to operating in the region having installed the full-scale Pelamis prototype at EMEC in Orkney between 2004 and 2007; which was the world’s first grid connected offshore wave energy converter. Later this year PWP will be returning to EMEC to start demonstration of the first Pelamis P2 machine for utility client E.ON UK.
PWP Project Development Manager Andrew Scott welcomed the outcome of the leasing round saying: “This is terrific news for PWP and Armadale. The agreement with The Crown Estate, along with a grid connection, has significantly de-risked this project opportunity, and we look forward to bringing this project through consents to a position where it can be built and start exporting wave power to the UK grid”.
PWP have elected to use an Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Ocean Power Delivery, to carry out the project development work for the site, which is currently named “Armadale”.
With a mainland grid connection; the Armadale project represents the only proposed wave farm in Scotland that is not dependant on an island transmission upgrade. Neels Kriek PWP Chief Executive said: “Choosing a mainland grid connection gives us the clear route to deliver a utility scale wave farm, potentially up to 50MW, within the shortest timeframe, which presents a considerable opportunity for PWP; not least the potential to win the Saltire Prize.”