Crest of a wave (wave power pilot project)

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2007/1102/1193444374748.html

Crest of a wave

Barry O'Halloran

Friday's Interview: Two weeks ago, a company owned by three Corkmen launched something that looked like the incomplete hull of a medium-sized trawler in Galway Bay - and left it there.

It was the latest stage in a process that could lead to one of the first viable commercial systems in western Europe for converting wave power to electricity.

The company, Cobh, Co Cork-based OceanEnergy, has been working on the project for six years with the help of the Marine Institute, the Hydraulic Marine Research Centre in University College Cork (UCC) and Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI).

Its three principals, Michael Whelan, John McCarthy and John Keating, have put about €1 million of their own resources into the project. So it's not surprising that they regarded the launch as something of a red letter day.

Their equipment began producing electricity from the waves that pass through it on the way to hitting the coast close to Spiddal. It's one of just three devices in the world converting wave power to electricity.

The location is a specially designated test bed for this type of technology. Keating says the plan is to leave it there for the winter to establish that it can "survive the harsh sea conditions" and continue to produce electricity consistently in a variety of conditions. The next stage, he explains, is to produce a commercial prototype early next year that will provide electricity to the national grid.

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