Mutriku Breakwater Wave Plant

The Mutriku plant was built by Ente Vasco de la Energía, using oscillating water column (OWC) technology from Voith Hydro. After the design for the Mutriku breakwater was completed in 2005, the Basque government's Department of Transport and Public Works asked EVE to design a wave power plant integrated into the breakwater. OWC technology was chosen as it had been previously tested (for example, at the Islay LIMPET device) and could be easily integrated into the existing breakwater design.{{Cite journal|last1=Torre-Enciso|first1=Yago|last2=Ortubia|first2=I.|last3=Aguileta|first3=L.I.|last4=Marqués|first4=J.|date=2009|title=Mutriku Wave Power Plant: From the Thinking out to the Reality|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284510540|journal=Proceedings of the 8th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference|pages=319–329}}

Construction of the power plant began in 2006, with completion planned by 2009. The plant was built into a 100-meter section of the breakwater on a 0.50 meter deep foundation, measuring 14.24 meters wide and 102 meters long. 16 air chambers were constructed on the foundation, using prefabricated parts. Each air chamber has a permanently submerged opening to allow ingress of sea water into the air column. A fixed-pitch Wells turbine turbo generator set is connected to each air chamber. Each turbo generator unit is oriented vertically, measures 2.83 meters tall by 1.25 meters wide and weighs approximately {{Convert|1200|kg|lbs}}. These have an individual rated capacity of 18.5 kW, with the 16 units providing a total capacity of 296 kW. This equipment was manufactured by Voith Hydro.{{Cite web|title=Mutriku Wave Energy Plant - Power Technology {{!}} Energy News and Market Analysis|url=https://www.power-technology.com/projects/mutriku-wave/|access-date=2021-04-23|website=www.power-technology.com|language=en-GB}}

The Mutriku power plant was inaugurated on July 8, 2011. It produces enough energy to supply approximately 100 households. During its first five years of operation, it supplied over 1.3 GWh of power to the grid.{{Cite web|date=2016-07-19|title=Mutriku wave plant generates over 1 GWh of clean power|url=https://www.offshore-energy.biz/mutriku-wave-plant-generates-over-1gwh-of-clean-power/|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Offshore Energy|language=en-US}} In 2020, EVE announced that the Mutriku plant had produced a cumulative total of 2 GWh, making it the record holder for most electricity produced by a wave power plant, as well as most cumulative operating hours for a wave power plant.{{Cite web|date=2020-02-24|title=Mutriku Wave Plant Hits 2GWh Mark|url=https://www.offshore-energy.biz/mutriku-wave-plant-hits-2gwh-mark/|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Offshore Energy|language=en-US}}

A study published in 2018 calculated that the capacity factor of the Mutriku power plant from 2014 to 2016 was 0.11. The researchers behind this study proposed that capacity factor could be increased by improving control of turbine speeds.{{Cite journal|date=2018-01-01|title=Electricity production, capacity factor, and plant efficiency index at the Mutriku wave farm (2014–2016)|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0029801817306157|journal=Ocean Engineering|language=en|volume=147|pages=20–29|doi=10.1016/j.oceaneng.2017.10.018|issn=0029-8018|hdl=10810/23246|hdl-access=free|last1=Ibarra-Berastegi|first1=Gabriel|last2=Sáenz|first2=Jon|last3=Ulazia|first3=Alain|last4=Serras|first4=Paula|last5=Esnaola|first5=Ganix|last6=Garcia-Soto|first6=Carlos}}{{Cite web|date=2017-12-29|title=Turbine speed control could bolster Mutriku wave plant output|url=https://www.offshore-energy.biz/turbine-speed-control-could-bolster-mutriku-wave-plant-output/|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Offshore Energy|language=en-US}}

From 2016 onwards, various monitoring efforts were implemented in order to assess the environmental impact of underwater sound emissions produced by the power plant.{{Cite web|title=Mutriku Wave Power Plant {{!}} Tethys|url=https://tethys.pnnl.gov/project-sites/mutriku-wave-power-plant|access-date=2021-04-23|website=tethys.pnnl.gov}}

EVE announced in October 2022 that the plant delivered a total of 2.7GWh of energy to the grid.

The turbines have an annual pneumatic to electric conversion efficiency of 30%. As of October 2022, the turbines are approaching their end-of-life and there are proposals to replace them with newer, higher efficiency (50%) turbines. As Voith has discontinued the development of the product, a new manufacturer has to be found. The project budget for the turbine replacement is expected to be 3.2 million Euros (vat excl.) and the replacement would take 42 months.{{cite web|title=Turbowave webinar: Public procurement of air turbines for the Mutriku Wave Power Plant|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVDh_SRnJ74|date=February 1, 2023|access-date=August 20, 2023|publisher=Ente Vasco de la Energía}}

By the end of 2023, the total lifetime generation was over 3 GWh, with 266 MWh in 2023.{{Cite report |url=https://www.ocean-energy-systems.org/publications/oes-annual-reports/document/oes-annual-report-2023/ |title=Annual Report: An Overview of Ocean Energy Activities in 2023 |last=IEA-OES |date=2024-02-29 |page=23}}

• List of wave power stations

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Category:Buildings and structures in Gipuzkoa

Category:Wave farms in Spain

Category:Debabarrena

Category:Infrastructure completed in 2011

Category:2011 establishments in the Basque Country (autonomous community)