Carbon Trust in offshore investment

The Carbon Trust is investing £400,000 to investigate ways that could make marine energy devices easier to deploy at sea.

Working with Pelamis Wave Power and Marine Current Turbines, the projects will focus on installation and maintenance, which currently account for up to 50 per cent of the project costs of wave and tidal energy and could delay more widespread deployment if not reduced.

Reliably moving a 180m Pelamis electricity-generating 'sea snake' onto a mooring many kilometres offshore is a task that highlights the challenges of making marine energy a commercially viable method of generating renewable energy.

The Carbon Trust and Pelamis Wave Power are investigating the possibility of using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that will assist with manoeuvring these giant machines into position. They will also integrate remote control technology into existing systems, which will enable deployment in rougher seas.

The development promises to significantly reduce vessel and equipment requirements and make installation and maintenance quicker, cheaper and safer, thereby reducing the overall cost of the energy generated.