The agreement comes on the heels of a recent fundraising effort and the receipt of a SMART:Scotland grant earlier this year.
The lease agreement will enable Trident Energy to test their PowerPod technology at sea and gather operating data to inform commercial designs and performance modelling.
The co-located PowerPod is designed to attach to offshore infrastructure, such as offshore wind turbines or oil & gas platforms, to supply off-grid renewable electricity and thus reduce reliance upon offshore diesel generation.
During the Kishorn tests, the PowerPod prototype will be attached to the side of a deep-water jetty. The test site at Kishorn is exposed to moderate waves which are less extreme than fully developed waves in the Atlantic Ocean. These waves are sufficiently energetic to achieve the objectives of the trials without incurring the costs and risks associated with offshore deployments.
The tests are off-grid and the electricity produced will be dissipated through a load bank. The easily accessible site will allow Trident Energy to test different control systems during the trial period which will start in spring 2013, subject to marine license approval. The lease with Kishorn Port is for an initial period of one year.
PowerPod displaces offshore diesel generation by supplying clean off-grid electricity to turbine support systems prior to the turbine's connection to the onshore electricity grid.
“Looking for a jetty on which to test our co-located wave technology posed two challenges," said Jonathan Armstrong, Chief Operating Officer of Trident Energy.
"First, jetties are largely in sheltered locations. Second, most structurally sound jetties have other on-going operations," he said. "Kishorn represents a great solution – the site is a legacy from oil & gas construction in the 1970s and offers a substantial, unused deep-water jetty which is exposed to energetic waves from the SW.
"The management team at Kishorn Port have been extremely supportive and we look forward to working with them as we install and test our PowerPod technology,” he added.
Alasdair Ferguson, Director of Kishorn Port Ltd., said: “Both myself and my fellow Director in KPL, Simon Russell are delighted that Trident Energy have chosen Kishorn Port as their preferred site for testing their Power Pod – Wave Energy Device. Kishorn Port is in the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan for Scotland, and ideally suited for projects such as this. We see this agreement between KPL and Trident Energy as only the beginning. Potential projects and developments on site for the Renewable Energy sector for offshore wind, wave and tidal will be able to utilise the exceptionally deep water, berths, dry dock, quarry and expansive laydown land which Kishorn Port has to offer.”
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