AN Irish company is set to build the world's largest offshore wave energy park off the coast of Cornwall.
The Cork-based company, Simply Blue Energy, is leading the project, which is expected to cost around £45m (€62m).
The energy park will be located at Britain’s Wave Hub facility - a site that is funded by the British government.
Around 200 generators – supplied by Swedish company called Seabased Industry – will be located at the facility, providing a 10megawatt generating capacity.
Simply Blue Energy co-founder Sam Roch-Perks said that the site would benefit from the strong geographical location.
"It is the only site that is fully consented and is ready to go in Europe,” he told the Irish Independent.
"What the UK have done is put in a plug in a site that has full planning consent and has some very attractive subsidies."
He added that while the company would consider developing in Ireland in the future, it is not a short-term prospect.
"For Ireland Inc, renewables are the Holy Grail, we should be pushing like mad to get it [the renewable sector] sorted," he said.
"I would love to do something long term here but there are all sorts of issues regarding planning, it's very difficult and takes a long time, there is too much red tape."
The Cornwall energy hub is expected to be completed in 2017, and will supply enough electricity to power over 8,000 homes.
The hub will be a 'socket' into which wave energy converters can be plugged providing a grid connected infrastructure to bring the electricity generated ashore.
What is wave energy?
- The energy comes from the waves endlessly rolling back and forth to shore
- Electricity generators are placed on the surface of the ocean to exploit the wave power
- The energy output is determined by wave height, wave speed, wavelength, and water density
(Source: Alternative Energy News)
