Wave Energy

The peninsular of the south west England juts into the Atlantic and faces the prevailing westerlry swell. These long waves pack an enormous amount of energy - with typical average range of 15-25 kw/m (kilowatts per metre of wave face) in the area around Wave Hub off the north cornish coast increasing to 3-40 kw/m in the area around the Isles of Scilly. While the waves are powerful, south west England benefits from less extreme storm conditions that would challenge the 'survivability' of devices. This is especially important in the early stages of their development. 

It is most likely that commercial wave farms of 10-30 MW will be located off the north cornish coast with grid connection into the substation at Hayle. The Isles of Scilly also offer an opportunity for early stage developers with excellent wave resources and the potential to provide the islands with self sufficent energy or export back to the mainland. From 2018 onwards, larger Wave farms of over 100 MW plus could be sited in deeper water to the west of Wave Hub and out into the Western Approaches where energy levels reach 25-35 kw/m

The ORRAD baseline scenario suggested that over 1,240 MW of wave energy projects could be developed by 2030. This figure could be considerably higher if wave energy technology is succesful in driving down costs to become competitive with offshore wind and to make it economically viable to exploit resources greater than 50 km from shore.

The south west's ambition to become a world centre for Wave energy is demonstrated by the investment in the Wave Hub, an 8 km2 demonstration area for large scale wave energy devices, and the creation of PRIMaRE, the Peninsula Research Institute for Marine Renewable Energy.

The region is also the home for a large number of Wave Energy technology developers, engineering firms and consultancies specialising in the design and development of innovative wave energy technologies.