Aegir has been working for the chance to develop an area off the Shetlands for wave power generation since 2009. Now that permission has been granted by The Crown Estate, owner of the seabed in the UK, Aegir is ready to proceed with, among other things, environmental studies and evaluation of the area in order to secure authorisation for development from the Scottish authorities. The plan is to begin with a project in which Pelamis' wave energy converters will be placed in a sea area off the south-western Shetland coast. The capacity of the project, 10 megawatt MW, should represent the equivalent electricity consumption of roughly 8,500 households.
"The Shetland Islands, with their wave resources, offer considerable scope for developing marine energy generation, if the necessary network connections to the mainland are completed. So we are pleased to have the authorisation to begin our studies," says Veijo Huusko, Head of Ocean Energy at Vattenfall and Aegir chairman.
"We see our renewable wave resources as a significant potential energy source and an asset for our municipality. We intend to encourage development in this area, in a responsible and sustainable way with community participation," says Alastair Cooper, chairman of the Economic & Development Committee of Shetland Island Council.
"The Aegir project is a good example of what a network connection can bring to an economy. We look forward to the start of a new marine-based industry for Shetland's long-term development," says Alastair Cooper with regards to the planned electricity cable to the Scottish mainland.
As part of the investigative work made possible by the agreement, Aegir plans to deploy wave measuring equipment off Shetland's south-western coast in the coming weeks, to determine just how rich this source of energy is. Aegir will also conduct a wide range of studies in order to assess the advantages and consequences of further development, with a decision expected in 2015.
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