Developing Ocean Energy in Ireland
Belmullet Wave
Energy Test Site
Where does our
energy come from?
Most of the energy we use in Ireland comes from fossil fuels
such as oil, coal, peat and gas. We burn these fossil fuels in
our power stations to produce electricity and we also use the
fuels directly to heat our homes and run our cars. When used
these fuels release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere,
contributing to climate change and as they are a limited
resource we must look to other renewable sources of energy.
Renewable Energy
The main sources of renewable energy are the sun (solar energy),
the wind, moving water (hydropower, ocean energy), geothermal
(heat below the earth’s surface) and biomass (wood and energy
crops). Ireland has an abundance of several of these resources
and their effective development and use will reduce emissions
of harmful greenhouse gases and our reliance on imported fossil
fuels. Given that we’re an island nation we are uniquely positioned
to develop and use our ocean energy resources to our advantage.
In fact, with a focused and committed effort Ireland could become
a world leader in ocean energy technologies.
Proposed Belmullet Wave Energy Test Site
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland plans to develop a
National Wave Energy Test Site, which is proposed to be located
off Annagh Head, west of Belmullet in County Mayo.
The purpose of the wave energy test site at Belmullet is to
provide a location for the temporary mooring and deployment
of wave energy machines so that their performance in generating
electricity and their survivability can be tested and demonstrated
in open ocean conditions. It is proposed for the site to operate
for up to 20 years with devices on site intermittently throughout
the year.
What is Ocean Energy?
Ocean energy includes both wave and tidal power:
wave power
Tidal power
Wave power refers
to the extraction
of energy, usually in
the form of electricity
from the up and down
motion of waves.
Tidal power is
the generation of
electricity from the
horizontal motion
of tidal currents in
the sea.
In this example
the movement of
the tide causes the
turbines to turn.
The proposed test site in Belmullet will solely focus
on wave powered technologies.
About the Ocean Energy
Development Unit (OEDU)
The Government has chosen the
Sustainable Energy Authority
of Ireland (SEAI) to play a lead
role in developing the ocean
energy sector in Ireland. The
Ocean Energy Development
Unit (OEDU) was set up by SEAI
in 2008 with the objective of
making Ireland a world leader
in supplying ocean energy
technologies internationally and
in generating electricity from the
abundant waves and tides off our
surrounding coastlines.
It is hoped that by the year 2020
over 1900 new jobs will have been
created and that there will be at
least 500 megawatts of generating
capacity installed in the ocean.
That’s enough to power nearly
500,000 homes.
In order to achieve these
ambitious targets the OEDU will:
· provide support funding for
companies developing ocean
energy devices
· develop wave energy test sites
to test and demonstrate these
devices before they become
commercially viable including
a full-scale National Wave
Energy Test Site at Belmullet
The Site
Purpose of the site:
To date ocean energy devices have been
tested at small scale in the Hydraulic and
Maritime Research Centre in Cork and at
quarter scale in an existing test facility at
Galway Bay. The purpose of the proposed
full scale test site is to assess the performance
of the wave energy machines under
development in generating electricity and
their survivability in open ocean conditions.
There have only been a handful of full scale
wave energy devices tested in the world. The
development of a test site in Belmullet will
be a major international success for Ireland.
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WEATHERBUOY
2
DEEP WATER TEST AREA
Belmullet was selected as the most
suitable of seven candidate sites
along the west coast principally
due to:
3
WAVEBUOY
4
COASTAL TEST AREA
5
NEAR SHORE TEST AREA
6
TURBINE HOUSE
· Deep water with sandy sea
bed close to shore
7
SUBSTATION
CABLES
· Quality of the wave climate
WATER PIPELINES
· Suitable grid for electrical
connection
· Good shore infrastructure
e.g. piers, roads, services
The proposed test site will operate for up
to 20 years and will provide three separate
test locations at various depths of water
depending on the specific devices being
tested:
1
1. Near-shore 10m to 25m water depth
2. Mid-water 50m water depth
The proposed locations can be seen
on the figure below.
Deep
6
2
3
Km
r: 12
-wate
x 3Km
Appro
ater:
Mid-w
SEAI is the national energy
authority whose mission is to
play a leading role in facilitating
Ireland’s transformation to a
society based on sustainable
energy structures, technologies
and practices.
m
e: 1K
Shor
4
3. Deep-water 100m water depth
0m –
• BELMULLET
Who is SEAI?
5
Near
50m
s
epth
ter D
a
W
n
Ocea m
+100
–
100m
0Km
1Km
2Km
What is a Wave
Energy Device?
Wave energy devices
extract energy directly
from the surface motion
of ocean waves or from
pressure fluctuations
below the surface.
7
50m
How big will these
ocean devices be?
There is a great
variety of machines
in development but in
general the sizes will
range from 10 meters
long to 30 meters long –
in other words from the
size of an inshore fishing
boat to the size of an
ocean going trawler.
What’s involved in
setting up the test site?
What is a
Foreshore lease?
The Foreshore Acts
require that a lease or
license must be obtained
for carrying out works
or placing structures or
material on State-owned
foreshore. This is to
ensure works conform
to local by-laws and do
not encroach on others’
foreshore areas.
Environmental study
Cable route
An environmental study will be
carried out to assess the effects of
the test site and its construction on
local people, marine and terrestrial
wildlife and the environment. This
study forms part of the Licensing
and Permitting process.
It is proposed that four submarine
electricity cables will be installed
to a minimum of 1 metre below
the seabed and will come ashore
at Belderra beach. A small portion
of the route near the 50 meter
depth zone (about 2 miles out from
Annagh Head) has a stony seabed
and here the cables will be laid on
top of the rock and protected using
a rock berm or mattressing.
Licensing and permitting
The results of the environmental
study will be compiled in an
environmental impact statement
which will accompany an
application to the Department
of the Environment, Heritage and
Local Government for a Foreshore
Lease. It will also be necessary to
apply to Mayo County Council
for planning permission for the
substation and the water turbine
house. Both of these applications
will include extensive public
consultation.
Wave and weather
monitoring
There are two SEAI wave monitoring
buoys already installed at the midwater and deep-water areas off
Annagh Head which are collecting
data about wave conditions,
weather and tidal currents. Data
will shortly become available
to the public at www.marine.ie
Water pipelines
Devices under test at the near
shore site (item 5 on map) will send
compressed water via pipelines
along the seabed to a turbine
house which will be constructed on
Annagh peninsula (item 6 on map).
Here, the pressurised water will
be utilised to drive the turbine.
The turbine is connected to
an electrical generator which
generates electricity and sends
it to a small substation (item 7 on
map) at Annagh Head and onto
the electricity grid at Belmullet.
The turbine house will be about
the size of a domestic dwelling.
Substation
An electricity substation will be
located inland of the beach at
Belderra (item 7 on map) and will
be about the size of a domestic
dwelling. The electricity cables
mentioned above will continue
underground to the substation.
A dedicated overhead power line
on wooden poles will transmit
electricity from the substation
to the electricity grid at Belmullet.
What is a substation?
Substations are small buildings,
similar in size to a small domestic
dwelling. They house an assembly
of electrical equipment through
which electrical energy is passed
for transmission, distribution,
transformation or switching. In this
instance it will link the offshore
submarine electricity cables and the
onshore distribution electricity grid.
What is a wave
energy converter?
Wave energy converter (WEC)
moorings
The term ‘wave energy
converter’ is a generic
term used to describe
the different types
of physical devices
under development
to generate electricity
from ocean waves.
Mid and deep water wave energy
devices will need to be anchored
to the seabed by mooring lines.
It is likely that mooring lines will be
no longer than three to four times
the water depth at the deployment
location. Near-shore shallow water
devices will be fixed directly to the
seabed.
Landing and launching
facilities
Frenchport on the Annagh
Peninsula has been identified as a
possible location for launching and
landing facilities for boat services
to the test site and the construction
of a slipway adjacent to the existing
pier is being considered.
Timescale
The applications for permits to the
Department of the Environment,
Heritage and Local Government
and a planning application to
Mayo County Council will be
lodged before the end of 2010.
It is anticipated that the site will
be ready for testing the first wave
energy machine in 2012.
The benefits of a Wave Energy
Test Site
The benefits to locals
1. There will be increased work generated for local people.
2. Local pier and slipway facilities will be enhanced.
3. In the longer term, assuming that wave energy converters are
successfully tested and demonstrated at the Wave Energy Test Site,
there is the potential for Erris/Belmullet to become a national focal
point and centre of excellence for the wave energy sector.
4. The wave energy monitoring programme is providing real time,
detailed information on wave and weather conditions and currents
for surfers and fishermen in the area.
The benefits to Ireland
The Wave Energy Test Site will be the final piece of the jig-saw in terms
of Ireland being able to provide a fully comprehensive suite of services
to the ocean energy sector from drawing board, to tank testing, to quarter
scale and on to full scale grid connected testing. This will make Ireland
a global player in the provision of both expertise and new technologies to
the ocean energy sector and will pave the way for the deployment of wave
farms supplying renewable energy to Ireland’s national grid and beyond.
For more information on SEAI or this project please visit www.seai.ie
Further Information:
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland
Ocean Energy Development Unit
Civic Offices, Belmullet, Co. Mayo
t 097 20735
e [email protected]
w www.seai.ie/oceanenergy