Long-term contract to test PLAT-O in Orkney

Sustainable Marine Energy (SME) Ltd has signed a long-term testing contract with the Orkney-based European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) Ltd.

SME will be taking on one of the berths at the Fall of Warness tidal test site, where it will deploy five PLAT-O systems in an array over the next two years. This array will host SCHOTTEL SIT turbines and will deliver almost 1MW capacity.

PLAT-O is a buoyant platform that is taut moored to the seabed and sits under the surface of the water — not only, says SEM, offering enhanced yield and survivability but also means that surface vessels can pass safely overhead. Besides a surface marker buoy, the system is not visible on the surface.

A 100kW PLAT-O prototype is currently undergoing testing, initially off the Isle of Wight. It will be grid-connected at EMEC during 2015.  A 200kW commercial demonstrator will be deployed in 2016, with three more systems to follow.

This move has been backed and supported by the Scottish Government with the award of nearly £1.3m from the WATERS3 programme.

Jason Hayman, managing director of SME said: “This has been the result of many months of work and I would like to thank Scottish Enterprise, EMEC and all the SME team for their hard work and support.  At a time when commentators are talking the industry down, we can demonstrate that there is a new cost-effective model to watch.”