Tools estimate wave-energy yield

An £8m project that will produce tools capable of accurately estimating the energy yield of major wave- and tidal-stream energy has been approved by the Energy Technologies Institute.

Performance Assessment of Wave and Tidal Array Systems (PerAWaT), a project led by Garrad Hassan, and including EDF Energy, EON, Edinburgh University, Oxford University, Queen’s University Belfast and Manchester University will develop a series of models to predict the performance of wave- and tidal-stream generator arrays.

According to the ETI, there is currently no software package or validated method of estimating the average annual energy production of a wave- or tidal-stream energy farm.

Dr David Clarke, ETI chief executive, said: ‘Although the UK has huge marine potential, investment is being held back by uncertainty about the overall costs involved and the potential returns on investment in wave and tidal technologies.’

‘This project will deliver greatly improved modelling tools to provide more accurate forecasting of energy yields and reduce the uncertainty and investment risk faced by project developers when planning large-scale wave- and tidal-energy schemes.