The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
THE Government has granted a foreshore licence to a wave energy developer for site investigation works along the West Clare coast.
Carnegie Wave Energy Ltd (CWE) has been approved the licence for the site between Freagh Point and Spanish Point. It is the first such licence issued to the company in Europe.
The site was selected by CWE’s 100%-owned Irish subsidiary, CETO Wave Energy Ireland (CWE Ireland), following an indepth study of the Irish coastline. The study was supported by an Irish Government grant, administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
CETO Wave Energy Ireland applied for the licence in 2011. They expect to commence what they term “investigative activities” this year.
“Carnegie Wave Energy is very pleased to receive this approval and looks forward to working with local stakeholders to develop a successful CETO Wave Energy Project off the West Clare coast.
“I would particularly like to acknowledge the very constructive engagement which we have had with the Irish authorities since the establishment of our Irish subsidiary,” CWE’s executive director in business development, Kieran O’Brien, stated.
“At this stage what we have is a licence and a licence allows us to explore and to make some measurements. It doesn’t give us a lease to do anything. That would have to come later. It’s a very preliminary step,” he told The Clare Champion on Wednesday.
Mr O’Brien said significant job creation is unlikely in the short term. “Initially we will be involved in doing some surveying with wave-measuring devices. I wouldn’t say there will be a huge amount of local labour initially. We’ll have some work for boats but ultimately our target is to get quite significant wave energy development off the west coast of Ireland. Certainly that would be intensive in terms of employment for local boat people,” he predicted.
“We’re developing our technology in Australia at the moment. What we’re aiming for in West Clare is a commercial site, maybe around 2016. Initially we’re looking for a 5MW-size plant. At the moment, we’re doing a small 1.2MW development in Australia but that’s not commercial. It is being extensively grant-aided by the Australian Government.
“We are looking at sites elsewhere and the West of Ireland is very attractive because it has a really good wave regime. This is the first one that we have licenced in the Northern Hemisphere,” Mr O’Brien stated.
In October 2011, CWE Ireland, through Carnegie, signed a formal collaboration agreement with SEAI’s Ocean Energy Development Unit (OEDU) to jointly develop a wave energy project in Ireland.
Under this agreement, CWE Ireland, in collaboration with RPS Energy, completed a €150,000 site assessment and conceptual design study for a proposed 5MW CETO commercial demonstration project in Irish waters. Carnegie identified Clare as its preferred site.
The conceptual design and site project study, completed in 2011, was 50% funded by the SEAI under the Ocean Energy Prototype Research and Development Programme and CWE Ireland. The study identified two potential near-shore sites for further development.
Having further assessed the two potential sites, in consultation with the SEAI, CWE Ireland nominated a site between Freagh Point and Spanish Point as the preferred site for a potential CETO wave energy plant.
In their application to the Government for a foreshore licence off West Clare, the company said securing it would “provide CWE Ireland with the confidence to invest the time and resources to further develop the project and encourage the development and introduction of ocean energy in Ireland”.
Specifically, the investigative licence will allow CWE Ireland to conduct marine hydrographic surveys over the investigative licence area and characterise bathymetry and seabed properties.
