Technology

The project to install infrastructure for developing, demonstrating and operating offshore wave energy converters in the Basque Country - Biscay Marine Energy Platform, S.A. (Bimep) - has taken another step forward with the creation of a public company that will manage its construction, commissioning and operation. The company will have an initial capital of €10 million, 80 percent provided by the Basque Energy Agency and 20 percent by the State. The total investment is estimated at €20 million.

Bimep will focus on the development and installation of infrastructure for testing and demonstrating marine renewable energy converters and performing research on, testing, piloting and operating these converters and their components and auxiliary systems at full scale. It will also facilitate research associated with the development of the marine renewable energy sector in its various facets (environmental, technological, shipping, etc.), as well as the commercial exploitation of this infrastructure and the generation of power. To date, there is only one other facility similar to Bimep in Scotland.

Enormous potential
This project is part of the Basque Country Energy Strategy (3E2020), adopted by the Governing Council in early December 2011, the priorities of which include increasing renewable energy use by 87 percent, so as to cover 14 percent of final consumption using renewables.

It is expected that the facility will be completed between 2012 and 2013, and that up to 30 researchers will be engaged in the research of various technologies at the site during the first four years after it is opened.

The EVE highlights that around 80,000 TWh/year of ocean wave energy could be generated worldwide, equivalent to four times the EU's gross energy consumption in 2009. As far as the Basque coast is concerned, 2,000 GWh/year could be generated using current technologies, or in other words, the Basque Country could meet 10 percent of its electricity consumption using renewable energy generated from the waves.

Connected to the grid
Bimep will cover an area of 5.3 square kilometres of sea; marked using buoys located 1,700 metres from the coast in front of the port of Armintza. The devices moored in this area will be connected to the shore by four undersea cables, each with a capacity of 5 MW, which will evacuate the energy produced by the wave converters to the shore and inject it directly into the national electricity grid.

The cables will also incorporate fibre optics for transferring data on the operation and performance of the devices, which is essential for research. A research and control centre located in Armintza will manage the test site and boost technology development in those areas where further know-how is needed.

Bimep's power lines will be underground both on land, eliminating any visual impact, and on the seabed to prevent them from being damaged by the anchoring of vessels or fishing activities in the area. The cables will enter the sea through horizontal drill holes to avoid any damage to the surrounding cliffs.

Mutriku already in operation
In 2011, the EVE launched its first marine energy project in Mutriku. The facility, which opened last July, is integrated into the port's sea wall to convert wave energy, and is the first European plant to be connected to the grid.

The Basque government has invested €2.3 million in this project, which has a capacity of 296 kW and an estimated annual output of 600,000 kWh. This is equivalent to the consumption of 600 people, while its output will offset the same amount of carbon emissions as 80 hectares of forest.

For additional information:
www.eve.es
www.idae.es