Ireland opens ocean power test site off Galway coast

London (Platts)--17Mar2006

Sustainable Energy Ireland and the Irish Marine Institute have opened a
37-hectare site off the Galway coast to developers who want to test prototype
ocean power generators, SEI said March 14. The first generator, the Wavebob,
has arrived at Galway Docks and will be deployed 2.4 km off the coast of
Spiddal, County Galway, later this month.

The Marine Institute and SEI have invested Eur300,000 ($365,200) in
university-based research and a further Eur850,000 in industry-based research
into wave power technologies. Together with significant private investments,
"the initiative is beginning to bear fruit," SEI said.

"The most energetic waves in the world are located off the West coast of
Ireland," said Dr. Peter Heffernan, CEO of the Irish Marine Institute. "The
technology to harness the power of the ocean is only just emerging and Ireland
has the chance to become a market leader in this sector."

Developed at a cost of Eur1 million, the Wavebob prototype is a floating
and self-reacting device that can be deployed in large formations in deep
offshore waters. "In addition to the Wavebob, there are several other Irish
ocean energy technology developers in operation, so it is hoped that the
Galway Bay test site will be used to field test a number of other exciting
Irish wave device designs over the coming years," SEI said. Commercial wave
power generators are expected to come onstream between 2010 and 2015. SEI has
a target of 200 MW installed by 2020.

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