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Wave Dragon Submit Environmental Impact Assessment Statement
and Offshore Consents
April 27 2007, revised August 2009
Friday April 27 2007 the Wave Energy developer Wave Dragon Ltd has taken the first major step to deploy the Worlds Largest Wave Energy Converter (WEC) by submitting their Environmental Impact Statement. This follows almost two years of Environmental Impact Assessment consultations, studies and surveys. The Wave Dragon Project is part funded by European Objective 1 funds through the Welsh Assembly Government.
Hans Christian Sørensen (Chairman of the Wave Dragon Board) stated today; “This is an important milestone in the commercialisation of Wave Energy in general and Wave Dragon technology in particular. Wave Dragon is, through this application, taking the first step in establishing a 70MW wave power plant in the Celtic Sea after 2012.”
The project is the result of 20 years of research and development and will deploy a 7MW WEC off the Dale and Marloes Peninsula (Pembrokeshire) during 2011/2012.
What happens now:
Wave Dragon has submitted three offshore consents to the DTI and DEFRA. Any concerns arising, will then be forwarded and discussed with Wave Dragon before a formal decision is made. We will also be working with The Crown Estates and Pembrokeshire Coastal National Parks Authority towards a Lease and Planning Permission respectively.
Time Table:
End 2010 - Wave Dragon hopes to have successfully acquired our consents
End 2010 - Constructions begins
During 2011/2012 - Deployment and grid connection
For further information please contact Iain Russell (0044 (0) 7968060483) or
Hans Christian Sørensen (Chairman of the Board) (0045 28110219)
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Background Information:
Wave Dragon First Pembrokeshire Unit
The unit off Pembrokeshire will be a 7 MW device and located two to three miles northwest of St Ann’s Head and tested for three to five years only, in order to gain operational experience and knowledge on the energy transfer efficiencies. Commissioned in 2010 and deployed 2011/2012 the project will, even in this early demonstration phase, produce enough clean and green electricity each year to meet the annual demand of between 2,500 and 3,000 homes, subject to grid connection. This clean generation will offset the release of about 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, the main greenhouse gas contributing to global warming and climate change. However, there may be limits placed on us by the local grid capacity, and we are in discussion with Western Power as to exactly how much energy we can bring ashore.
The demonstration site has been selected in order to meet several criteria. It must be exposed to the predominant wind and wave direction but relatively close to land, for economic and operational purposes. The site must be close to a major port, in our case Milford Haven, but yet away from commercial shipping interests and outside of military firing ranges. The landfall of the cable must be close to potential grid connection locations. Due to these practical limitations, the demonstration site is located within the Pembrokeshire Marine SAC (Special Area of Conservation), and a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is being conducted. However, we are only applying for permission to use this site as a test area and the Wave Dragon will only remain in place here for three to five years, covering an area of approximately 0.25 km2, before being removed; hopefully to join ten other units further (ten to twelve miles) out to sea, to form Britain’s first commercial wave energy farm.
How it Works
The Wave Dragon is large floating barge that produces energy directly from the power of the water; the only moving parts in the entire structure are the turbines. The Wave Dragon works by facing its outstretched collector arms towards the oncoming waves, these concentrate 300 metres of wave front
towards 140 metres of ramp at the front of the structure. This focusing increases the wave height at the ramp, which in turn acts like a beach and causes the waves to break over its top and into the reservoir behind it. By this action the water is elevated and given potential energy, which is turned into electricity by simply running the water down through turbines in the bottom of the structure. The Wave Dragon actually produces energy in almost exactly the same way as a low-head hydro power station. This last fact is one of the major advantages of the Wave Dragon concept. There is no new technology utilised in this structure at all. The low-head turbines we are using are the same as the hydropower industry have been successfully using for over 80 years, the structure its self is based on designs that the maritime world has been using for even longer. This is of course another huge benefit of deploying in Pembrokeshire, in that there is a major resource of maritime construction experience that exists within Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock.
Wave Dragon Ltd
Wave Dragon is a private company that is working towards the commercialisation of a technology to extract electricity directly from ocean waves. Originally a Danish company we are now moving the centre of our global operations to South Wales to take advantage of both the Wave Climate and the professional expertise in this area and especially the political commitment to renewable energies by the Welsh Assembly Government.
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