C-Wave: Most People believe that Wave Energy is Really going to Happen

The potential of wave power as a renewable energy is staggering. Future Energy Solutions recently highlighted that the global potential for wave power is estimated to be around 8,000 - 80,000 TWh/y (1 - 10TW). This is the same order of magnitude as world electrical consumption. We've been talking to Giles Edward about how the industry has developed since he joined C-Wave as Chief Executive two years ago. He also told us how he thinks the industry will progress.

Before working in wave energy, Edward worked extensively in the oil and gas industry. He says, "It's become a much more industrial aware industry but that means the industry has become more aware of what it doesn't yet know - lessons that haven't yet been learned". The industry has certainly made some major steps in recent years; in 2006 Prime Minister Tony Blair looked at C-Wave as part of "Our Nation's Future", and more recently, ScottishPower has been granted planning permission by the Scottish Government for the world's largest generating capacity wave farm.

According to Edward, a key breakthrough for wave energy is that people from outside the industry have started to take it much more seriously. "Two and a half years ago it was very difficult to get any type of investment. You'd walk into somebody's office to talk about wave energy and they'd think you were mad!" Edward explains. However, we need only look to AWS Ocean which has just secured additional investment which is believed to run into millions to see that this is no longer the case. The company plan to use the investment to deploy a demonstration 250kw pre-commercial prototype which is expected to lead on to the first phase of a commercial demonstration farm in 2011.

There's now a much broader spectrum of choices and challenges that the industry is facing compared to what was happening a few years ago. Edward believes that it's no longer a question about whether one wave device is better than the other but more about "whether it's possible to operate and maintain wave energy devices at sea in a realistic fashion that makes them reliable energy generators. This requires developers to consider the industrial components, supply chain issues and anything else that is required to build a successful industry."

In order for wave to become a successful industry Edward believes, "What we really need to do is set up a road map where we start to deploy devices into the water again so that the industrialisation process actually happens". Test centres such as Cornwall's Wave Hub, Orkney's EMEC and Portugal's Wave Energy Test Centre will form an important part of this. Edward stated, "It means that projects will happen quicker and more easily because the infrastructure will exist to support them".

By Ian Evans
email: ian@eyeforenergy.com