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"Everyone is sensitive about creating headlines about this kind of thing," Mr Cousins says "We are very careful Durability is key. The centre has to produce year in year out."Pelamis is one of three marine energy prototypes in commercial development in the UK, but another 50 unproven designs from as many companies are competing for funding. The machines work best in depths of 50 metres and are placed at right angles to the waves. Wave movement is converted into electricity by hydraulic pistons fitted at the joints of the sections, driving a generator. The electricity feeds via a cable on the seabed into a substation on the shore and into the national grid.It is unlikely OPD would have won the Pelamis order without Emec, which was set up by the Government and has received about £10m in funding.
Proof that prototype devices work is vital to attract the investment to develop them. Max Carcas, business development director at OPD, says Emec aims to prevent investors losing money on unreliable devices, as happened in the early days of wind energy. "There were those in the wind industry that promised the earth, the result being that investors got their fingers burnt. We want to avoid that experience."Information from the devices Emec tests is fed digitally through fibre-optic cables along the seabed to the data centre at Stromness, where there is a staff of four. As well as using satellite navigation to make sure its devices do not drift out of position, Emec has a CCTV camera at an observation point on a cliff, and buoys in the bay to help it monitor sea conditions.
The design it will use - called Pelamis - was put through its paces at the European Marine Energy Centre (Emec) in Stromness last year.Each Pelamis machine consists of four long, thin cylindrical sections linked together by hinged joints, to a total length of 120 metres. There are lots of new ideas out there, but not many have been proven and even fewer have actually been deployed at sea. Large energy companies have moved away from technology development in recent years. We are watching the sector closely but would need the big questions answered before making large-scale investment."Privately, one executive at another energy group says the marine energy industry has a "wacky sandals and beards" image.Marine may be a long way behind wind energy, but it is catching up fast. Two weeks ago, the Edinburgh-based company Ocean Power Delivery (OPD) announced that it had won a £5.5m order to build the world's first commercial wave-power farm.
