Pelamis Wave Energy Converter

Pelamis was an attenuating wave energy converter. The machine responded to the curvature of the waves (their shape) rather than the wave height. As waves can only reach a certain curvature before naturally breaking, this limits the range of motion through which the machine must move but maintains large motion at the joints in small waves.

The Pelamis machine was an offshore wave energy converter, operating in water depths greater than 50{{Space}}m.{{Cite web |last=University of Strathclyde |title=Attenuator - Analysis of Cost Reduction Opportunities in the Wave Energy Industry |url=https://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/14-15/Wave_Energy/attenuator.html |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=www.esru.strath.ac.uk}} The machine consisted of a series of semi-submerged cylindrical sections linked by hinged joints. As waves pass along the length of the machine, the sections move relative to one another. The wave-induced motion of the sections is resisted by hydraulic cylinders which pump high pressure oil through hydraulic motors via smoothing hydraulic accumulators. The hydraulic motors drive electrical generators to produce electricity. Electricity from all the joints is fed down a single umbilical cable to a junction on the sea bed. Several devices can be connected and linked to shore through a single seabed cable.

Image:Pelamis at EMEC.jpg

Pelamis Wave Power tested their first full-scale prototype at the Billia Croo wave test site at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland between 2004 and 2007. The machine, which was rated at 750 kW, was the world's first offshore wave power machine to generate electricity into the grid system.

The prototype was {{convert|120|m|ft}} long and {{convert|3.5|m|ft}} in diameter. It had four tube sections coupled by three power conversion modules.{{cite web|title=Development History|url=http://www.pelamiswave.com/development-history|publisher=Pelamis Wave Power|access-date=29 June 2012|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314091146/http://www.pelamiswave.com/development-history|archive-date=14 March 2014}}

{{Main article|Aguçadoura Wave Farm}}

In 2008 Pelamis tested three first-generation, P1 Pelamis converters at the Aguçadoura Wave Farm. Located off the northwest coast of Portugal near Póvoa de Varzim, the farm had an installed capacity of 2.25{{Space}}MW and was the world's first multiple machine wave power project.{{cite news|title=Wave energy contract goes abroad|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4563077.stm|publisher=BBC Scotland|access-date=2008-08-06 | date=2005-05-19}} The project was part funded by Portuguese utility Enersis,{{cite news|title=Pelamis Offshore Wave Energy in Portugal|url=http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/pelamis-offshore-wave-energy-portugal/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408233800/http://alternative-energy-news.info/pelamis-offshore-wave-energy-portugal/ |archive-date=8 April 2014 |url-status=dead |publisher=Alternative Energy| date=28 October 2006}} at the time owned by Australian global investment company Babcock & Brown.{{cite news|title=Babcock & Brown acquires Enersis for €490mn|url=http://www.newratings.com/en/main/company_headline.m?&id=1163434 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926214303/https://www.newratings.com/en/main/company_headline.m?&id=1163434 |archive-date=26 September 2011 |url-status=dead |date=19 December 2005}} The farm first generated electricity in July 2008 but was taken offline in November 2008 at the same time as Babcock & Brown encountered financial difficulties.{{cite news|title=Big boys' greed pulls us all down |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/paul-sheehan/australias-richest-man-youre-having-a-laugh-/2008/10/26/1224955851150.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430123624/https://www.smh.com.au/national/big-boys-greed-pulls-us-all-down-20081027-gdt0es.html |archive-date=30 April 2023 |url-status=live |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=27 October 2008}}

The P2 Pelamis design was Pelamis Wave Power's second generation Pelamis machine. The Pelamis P2 is 180{{Space}}m long, 4{{Space}}m in diameter, and approximately 1350 tonnes in weight. Consisting of five tube sections and four flexible joints, the design is longer and fatter than the previous P1 design.

In 2010, Pelamis Wave Power began tests of the first Pelamis P2 machine, again at the EMEC Billia Croo wave test site. The machine was owned by the German utility company, E.ON, and was the UK's first commercial supply contract in the marine energy sector.{{cite web|title=Making Waves|url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2010/05/17144639 |archive-url=https://webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk/3000/https://www.gov.scot/News/Releases/2010/05/17144639 |archive-date=17 November 2020 |url-status=dead |publisher=Scottish Government|access-date=7 April 2011|date=18 May 2010}} The P2-001 machine was named {{Lang|non|Vágr Atferð}}, Old Norse for Wave Power.{{Cite web |date=2010-07-28 |title=Business Comment #6 Aug/Sept 2010 |url=https://issuu.com/distinctivepublishing/docs/businesscomment-06 |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=issuu.com |publisher=Distinctive Media Group Ltd |page=25 |language=}}

In March 2010 Pelamis Wave Power announced a second order for a P2 machine, from ScottishPower Renewables, part of Iberdrola Renovables.{{cite web|title=ScottishPower Renewables Purchase Pelamis Wave Power Device |url=https://www.scottishpowerrenewables.com/news/pages/scottishpower_renewables_purchase_pelamis_wave_power_device.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208223412/https://www.scottishpowerrenewables.com/news/pages/scottishpower_renewables_purchase_pelamis_wave_power_device.aspx |archive-date=8 December 2022 |url-status=live |publisher=ScottishPower Renewables |access-date=16 June 2010 |date=29 March 2010}} This second machine was first installed at EMEC in May 2012.{{cite web|title=ScottishPower Renewables at EMEC|url=http://www.pelamiswave.com/our-projects/project/2/ScottishPower-Renewables-at-EMEC|website=www.pelamiswave.com|access-date=2013-03-15|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115094548/http://www.pelamiswave.com/our-projects/project/2/ScottishPower-Renewables-at-EMEC|archive-date=2013-01-15}} The two utility companies announced that they would work together to share and collaborate in testing of the P2 Pelamis technology.{{cite web|title=Two Major Energy Players Join Forces on Wave Power|url=http://www.newenergyfocus.com/do/ecco/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=32&listitemid=4529|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129005733/http://newenergyfocus.com/do/ecco/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=32&listitemid=4529|url-status=usurped|archive-date=2010-11-29|publisher=New Energy Focus|access-date=2011-04-07}}

When not being tested at the Billa Croo test site, the machines were maintained at Lyness Harbour on this island of Hoy, Orkney. The Golden Wharf at Lyness was upgraded in 2010–2011 to host renewable energy projects.{{Cite web |last= |date=2011-08-08 |title=Lyness redevelopment nears completion |url=https://orcadian.co.uk/lyness-redevelopment-days-away-from-completion/ |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=The Orcadian Online |language=en-GB}}

Following the demise of the company, the P2-001 device, having completed over 15,000 hours of operation, was acquired by Wave Energy Scotland. The device was decommissioned in April 2016 and sold to the Orkney Island Council for £1. The other device, P2-002 was sold to the European Marine Energy Centre for use as a test rig.{{cite web|title=Dismantling Pelamis P2 001 in Orkney|url=http://www.hie.co.uk/growth-sectors/energy/wave-energy-scotland/news-and-events/news/dismantling-pelamis-p2-001-in-orkney.html|publisher=Wave Energy Scotland|access-date=13 November 2016|date=15 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112212217/http://www.hie.co.uk/growth-sectors/energy/wave-energy-scotland/news-and-events/news/dismantling-pelamis-p2-001-in-orkney.html|archive-date=12 November 2016|url-status=dead}}

E.ON and ScottishPower Renewables announced plans to build larger projects using Pelamis machines in the waters off Orkney's west coast.{{cite web|title=ScottishPower Renewables To Develop Major Marine Power Sites In The Pentland Firth|url=http://www.scottishpower.com/PressReleases_2018.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110325012320/http://www.scottishpower.com/PressReleases_2018.htm |archive-date=25 March 2011 |url-status=dead |publisher=Scottish Power |date=6 March 2010}} Both companies won leases in 2010 from The Crown Estate, who own the seabed around the UK, for projects of up to 50{{Space}}MW. The "Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Leasing Round" was the world's first commercial-scale wave and tidal energy leasing opportunity.{{cite news|title='Milestone' for wave energy plans|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8564662.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409073551/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8564662.stm |archive-date=9 April 2014 |url-status=live |publisher= news.bbc.co.uk| date=16 March 2010}}

Pelamis platurus is a yellow-bellied sea snake that lives in tropical and subtropical waters. It prefers shallow inshore waters.

The Hailong (Dragon) 1 is a Chinese wave energy machine, reported to be a near perfect copy of the Pelamis, which began testing in 2015 in the South China Sea. It was reported to have been based on IP stolen from Pelamis during a 2011 heist.{{cite web |last1=MacAskill |first1=Ewen |title=Huawei, hacking, and the stench of western hypocrisy |url=https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/huawei-hacking-and-the-stench-of-western-hypocrisy-china-5g |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427030306/https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/opinions/42537/huawei-hacking-and-the-stench-of-western-hypocrisy |archive-date=27 April 2023 |url-status=live |publisher=Prospect Magazine |date=3 May 2019}}

July 2023 the Orkney Island Council sought tenders for the disposal of the Pelamis 2. "Orkney Islands Council (OIC) invite you to submit a proposal to take ownership and remove and dispose of the wave energy converter known as “Pelamis” P2. The “Pelamis” is a Wave Energy Converter which was utilised to capture wave energy from the sea in the waters off the sea in Orkney. It became redundant and came into the possession of OIC in 2017. It has been laid up at moorings off Lyness Wharf, Hoy, Orkney.

Upon an agreed date which shall be within 7 days of signing acceptance to the agreement the Contractor shall take ownership of Pelamis, and the responsibility for the upkeep, maintenance and security of the “Pelamis” will become the Contractor's responsibility. The Contractor will be required to have relevant and appropriate insurances in place at the time of change of ownership.

The contractor shall have the option to remove the Pelamis by sea to dismantle or dispose of the Pelamis at a regulated and certified recycling facility or to dismantle the Pelamis at Lyness Wharf and remove the components by road or by suitable marine transport and dispose of them at a regulated and certified recycling facility.

Should the Contractor wish to re-use the Pelamis for some other purpose this should be explained in full detail including the method of preservation, security and protection of the environment."

Image:Pelamis Wellenkraftwerk Portugal 1.JPG|2 of 3 Pelamis machines in the harbour of Peniche, Portugal.

Image:Pelamis at EMEC.jpg|Pelamis prototype machine at EMEC.

Image:Pelamis bursts out of a wave.JPG|The front of the Pelamis machine bursting through a wave at the Aguçadoura Wave Park

Image:Pelamis machine installed at the Agucadoura Wave Park.JPG|1 of 3 Pelamis machines at the Aguçadoura Wave Farm

{{stack|{{Portal|Portugal|Water|Renewable energy}}}}

• Marine current power
• Marine energy
• Wave energy
• Ocean Grazer
• Pelamis Wave Power
• Aegir wave farm

{{Reflist}}

• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20171005201912/http://www.aegirwave.com/ Aegir Wave Power]}}
• [http://www.emec.org.uk/ The European Marine Energy Test Centre]
• [http://www.power-technology.com/projects/pelamis/ The Power Technology website]
• [http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/02/pelamis-secures-wave-energy-order-from-e-on Pelamis Secures Wave Energy Order from E.on]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYzocwUfpNg Pelamis at Aguçadoura video]

{{Scottish energy}}

{{Sustainable development in Scotland}}

Category:2007 introductions

Category:Buildings and structures in Orkney

Category:Wave energy converters

Category:Wave farms in Portugal

Category:Wave farms in Scotland