"Wave power centre will be Europe's biggest"

Abstracted from International Ocean Systems, July/August 2001, pp27

Following the closing of the wide tank at Edinburgh University, Europe's largest dedicated research facility for the development of wave powered electricity generation will be built at the PORT of Blyth on the North Fast coast of England, next to the UK' first offshore wind farm. The 3D scientific wave generator tanks is to be built in a converted dry dock at the port and will generate waves up to 1m high and 0.25 to 0.3s periods. Modelling wavelengths of up to 15m in water depth up to 8m will thus be possible, while the wave paddles will have a 3m hinge depth and 1.8m stroke. Each of eight paddles it will be able to generate over 30kW of continuous wave power in the dock. The aim is to allow testing at between 1.8 to 1.18 model scale.

The facility's supporters include:

• Newcastle University who intends to use it for large-scale marine and civil engineering research,
• Professor Stephen Salter of the University's Wave Power Group, who strongly believes in tank testing of offshore power generation systems to allow controled and repeated conditions. According to Professor Salter, the new tank is a very important development for continuing research of proposed wind and wave power conversion systems including the training of access crews.
• Richard Yemm, managing director of Ocean Power Delivery (OPD) also intends to test a 1/7th model scale of OPD's Pelamis device and its mooring systems in this tank.

The facility is being developed by EEST - Euro-seas Engineering Services and Testing Ltd, UK, joint venture between CAPCIS Ltd (a UMIST materials and environmental company) and Hedley Purvis Ltd, which provides products and services for mechanical joint integrity management to oil, power, civil and heavy engineering industries. The wave maker is supplied by Edinburgh Designs Ltd.

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