Wave power testbed stalls

Energy device testbed runs into trouble in final stages of deployment

A testbed for wave energy power devices has run into trouble during its final stages of deployment off the north coast of Cornwall.

The Wave Hub will allow marine power companies to connect their energy devices to the national grid. It is in the process of being fitted to the seabed for tests to start in the autumn.

The hub will have a capacity of 20MW and will be the biggest marine energy test facility in the world when completed. It is connected to a 16-mile cable that serves four individual berths into which wave companies will plug their devices to test them. This subsea cable will be linked by an onshore cable to the national grid.

During deployment, a flotation device holding the cable on the surface of the sea so it could be connected onshore was punctured and part of the cable sank. It was wound back on to the Nordica vessel and repairs were carried out.

Jason Clark, of the South West Regional Development Agency, which is funding the £12.5 million project, said: “It’s vital it floats because if it touches the seabed there will be too much friction to drag it up the beach [for the onshore connection].”