Table of Contents
The Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) has formalized a contract with Wave Swell Energy. Through this cooperation agreement, the international company’s energy capture device will undergo a testing program at the Basque coast facilities. The primary purpose of the initiative is to validate the new technical features of the system before its subsequent commercial deployment in the continental market.
The Mutriku Plant and the Development of Marine Energy
Regarding the equipment specifications, the device employs a system based on oscillating water column technology. This infrastructure shares similarities with the plant’s current operating mechanisms, although it introduces design optimizations to maximize performance.
Previously, the analyzed components operated continuously in Australia and passed evaluations with large-scale prototypes at Oregon State University, where the stability of electricity production was demonstrated by integrating the structures into breakwaters.
The relocation of operations to the Gipuzkoan plant represents a critical phase for the consolidation of the Australian company. Likewise, the real environment will provide the necessary analytical resources to determine the economic viability, mechanical behavior, and energy efficiency of the modified model under real maritime conditions.
In addition, the Mutriku facilities consolidate their position as a global reference infrastructure in the ocean renewable energy sector. Since its inauguration in 2011, the plant stands out as the only facility in the world that generates electricity from wave energy continuously. Over the past decade, this research center has hosted the main turbine evaluation projects in the global industry.
Source and photo: BiMEP
