CorPower to deploy 5MW wave array at EMEC

Planned for deployment in 2029, the 5MW commercial array will consist of 14 C5 wave energy converters (WECs) at EMEC’s grid-connected Billia Croo test site. Each WEC has a 9m diameter spherical hull, claimed by CorPower to be one of the strongest in nature. Coupled with the company’s WaveSpring technology, the hull amplifies motion and power capture from ‘regular sea states’.

“I am delighted to announce that CorPower Ocean has entered into an agreement to develop the UK’s largest wave farm at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney,” said Scotland’s deputy first minister, Kate Forbes, announcing the project at the All-Energy Conference in Glasgow.

“This new project will create skilled jobs in Orkney, support a developing supply chain while reinforcing Scotland’s global leadership in marine renewables.”

CorPower Ocean previously tested its C3 WEC at EMEC’s Scapa Flow test site in 2018 through the Wave Energy Scotland programme. The intervening years have seen the company successfully demonstrate its latest C4 device off the coast of Portugal, surviving storm waves over 18m and providing electricity to the Portuguese grid. 

The C4’s storm protection system locks down the device during these extreme conditions, while also enabling safe offshore access for maintenance. Three more C4 WECs will be deployed in Portugal in the coming years while CorPower Ocean develops the next-generation C5 device. The C5 will power the 5MW array at Billia Croo, which CorPower hopes will be commercially viable through government support.

“We are thrilled to be back at EMEC to build the first commercial wave farm,” said Anders Jansson, head of Business Development at CorPower. “EMEC and Orkney offers significant know-how and an established supply chain, reducing risk and cost for the project.

“The UK’s renewable auctions will be key in providing a route to market for the Billia Croo project. The Marine Energy Council (MEC) is calling for the government to contract its first wave energy project in this year’s auction, either via a £5m wave energy ringfence or setting a clear capacity ambition supported by an alternative mechanism.”