EoW March 2013

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News
Corporate
March 2013 21
New research from the Carbon Trust
reveals that the Cornish coast and the
waters west of Scotland, off Lewis and
Uist, are the UK’s wave power “hot spots”.
These areas, 100km offshore on the edge
of the UK’s continental shelf, are the
most economically suitable locations for
developing wave energy, where wave
devices would maximise energy capture
from the Atlantic swells.
If exploited, sites in these locations could
generate power from waves at around
half the cost of current developments.
“If we can continue to innovate, to prove
the technology at scale and to bring
down costs, then there is every reason
to believe that wave power can provide
a significant contribution to our energy
needs,” says Stephen Wyatt of the Carbon
Trust.
While UK waters offer a potential total
resource of 230TWh per year, the Carbon
Trust’s estimates indicate that wave
energy devices could extract a total of
up to 95TWh per year. Of that, some
32-42TWh per year – or over 10GW of
wave energy capacity – is technically and
economically realistic to extract.
If wave farms of 500km in length could
be installed to deliver 42TWh per year,
it would provide 11 per cent of the UK’s
current power generation requirements.
Carbon Trust – UK
Website:
UK wave ‘hot-spots’ in Cornwall and Scotland
Cable cost rise for Western Isles
Scottish Hydro Electric (SHE), a subsidiary of energy company SSE, expects the
cost of a planned subsea power cable to increase by 75 per cent. The cable, to link
renewable energy projects on the Western Isles with mainland Scotland, is now
expected to cost in excess of £700m.
SHE said that completion of the cable and the £75m worth of infrastructure
needed on Lewis, originally anticipated for 2015, could be delayed for 12 months
or longer.
The Western Isles Council leader has called for an inquiry into the project. Angus
Campbell said questions needed to be asked about the costs and timescale of the
link.
SHE said it was committed to working towards achieving timely, cost effective
investment in the transmission system in the north of Scotland. A spokesperson
said: “We will provide a further update on the progress of the Western Isles
transmission project, including our supply chain discussions around cost and
delivery date, by the end of the year.”
Scottish Hydro Electric – UK Website: