The South West RDA’s (Regional Development Agency) pioneering Wave Hub marine energy project has been safely installed on the seabed following a delicate operation to lower the 12-tonne hub into 55 metres of water, 16 kilometres offshore.

Wave Hub is creating the world’s largest test site for wave energy technology by building a grid-connected socket on the seabed off the coast of Cornwall in South West England, to which wave power devices can be connected and their performance evaluated.

The South West RDA’s (Regional Development Agency) pioneering Wave Hub marine energy project has been safely installed on the seabed following a delicate operation to lower the 12-tonne hub into 55 metres of water, 16 kilometres offshore.

Wave Hub is creating the world’s largest test site for wave energy technology by building a grid-connected socket on the seabed off the coast of Cornwall in South West England, to which wave power devices can be connected and their performance evaluated.

The £42 million project has been developed by the South West RDA and is a cornerstone of its strategy to develop a world class marine energy industry in South West England and the UK.

Wave Hub was lowered to the seabed using a crane on board the cable laying ship Nordica and touched down at 15.12 on Friday September 3. Over the last two days the hub’s four 300m ‘tails’ have been positioned on the seabed and later today the vessel Tideway Rollingstone will start to place the first of 80,000 tonnes of rock on top of the 25km cable connecting Wave Hub to the shore to hold it in place.

News of Wave Hub’s successful installation was welcomed by UK Science Minister David Willetts, who said: “It is fantastic news that Wave Hub has now been deployed on the ocean floor – this ground breaking project will strengthen the UK’s position at the forefront of the wave energy sector. The UK is already leading the way, with 25 per cent of the world’s wave and tidal technologies being developed here. This is a huge opportunity for UK business – the sector could be worth £2 billion by 2050 and it has the potential to create up to 16,000 jobs by 2040.”

UK Climate Change Minister Greg Barker also congratulated the Wave Hub team on their achievement, saying: “The UK’s massive marine energy resources have the potential to supply millions of homes with renewable power, giving us security of supply and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Wave Hub will fulfil a crucial role that complements our existing test facilities in the UK and will help companies bring forward the development of marine energy.”

The RDA’s Wave Hub General Manager Guy Lavender said: “Seeing Wave Hub lowered into the water was the culmination of more than seven years’ hard work by hundreds of people and the fact that it was designed and built in this country is testimony to the skills and experience that the UK already has in the fledgling marine renewables industry.

“Wave Hub will be on the seabed for the next 25 years, helping the world gain invaluable knowledge about how we tap the vast energy potential of our oceans in the pursuit of clean, abundant, renewable energy and cementing the UK’s position at the forefront of this green power revolution.”

Maria McCaffery MBE, chief executive of Renewable UK, the UK’s leading renewable energy association, said: “Wave Hub is a tremendously exciting development, and a truly world-leading project. It will focus global industry attention on the UK and put the South West firmly on the map in terms of marine energy research and development.

“With projects such as Wave Hub, and a solid financial support mechanism, as a country we now have a unique opportunity to strengthen the lead in the sector and start rolling out the next generation of wave and tidal energy devices. These will make reliable and plentiful energy from the sea a reality within the next 10 years.”

Wave Hub is connected to the shore via a 25km, 1,300-tonne subsea cable that has been laid over the last few weeks from the beach at Hayle on the north Cornwall coast out to the Wave Hub site.

With the hub on the seabed, specialist contractor CTC Marine spent the weekend ensuring that the hub’s four 300-metre cable ‘tails’ which serve the four berths at Wave Hub are in the right position, and have surveyed the entire length of the cable.

Wave Hub is being funded with £12.5 million from the South West RDA, £20 million from the European Regional Development Fund Convergence Programme and £9.5 million from the UK government.

The £42 million project has been developed by the South West RDA and is a cornerstone of its strategy to develop a world class marine energy industry in South West England and the UK.

Wave Hub was lowered to the seabed using a crane on board the cable laying ship Nordica and touched down at 15.12 on Friday September 3. Over the last two days the hub’s four 300m ‘tails’ have been positioned on the seabed and later today the vessel Tideway Rollingstone will start to place the first of 80,000 tonnes of rock on top of the 25km cable connecting Wave Hub to the shore to hold it in place.

News of Wave Hub’s successful installation was welcomed by UK Science Minister David Willetts, who said: “It is fantastic news that Wave Hub has now been deployed on the ocean floor – this ground breaking project will strengthen the UK’s position at the forefront of the wave energy sector. The UK is already leading the way, with 25 per cent of the world’s wave and tidal technologies being developed here. This is a huge opportunity for UK business – the sector could be worth £2 billion by 2050 and it has the potential to create up to 16,000 jobs by 2040.”

UK Climate Change Minister Greg Barker also congratulated the Wave Hub team on their achievement, saying: “The UK’s massive marine energy resources have the potential to supply millions of homes with renewable power, giving us security of supply and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Wave Hub will fulfil a crucial role that complements our existing test facilities in the UK and will help companies bring forward the development of marine energy.”

The RDA’s Wave Hub General Manager Guy Lavender said: “Seeing Wave Hub lowered into the water was the culmination of more than seven years’ hard work by hundreds of people and the fact that it was designed and built in this country is testimony to the skills and experience that the UK already has in the fledgling marine renewables industry.

“Wave Hub will be on the seabed for the next 25 years, helping the world gain invaluable knowledge about how we tap the vast energy potential of our oceans in the pursuit of clean, abundant, renewable energy and cementing the UK’s position at the forefront of this green power revolution.”

Maria McCaffery MBE, chief executive of Renewable UK, the UK’s leading renewable energy association, said: “Wave Hub is a tremendously exciting development, and a truly world-leading project. It will focus global industry attention on the UK and put the South West firmly on the map in terms of marine energy research and development.

“With projects such as Wave Hub, and a solid financial support mechanism, as a country we now have a unique opportunity to strengthen the lead in the sector and start rolling out the next generation of wave and tidal energy devices. These will make reliable and plentiful energy from the sea a reality within the next 10 years.”

Wave Hub is connected to the shore via a 25km, 1,300-tonne subsea cable that has been laid over the last few weeks from the beach at Hayle on the north Cornwall coast out to the Wave Hub site.

With the hub on the seabed, specialist contractor CTC Marine spent the weekend ensuring that the hub’s four 300-metre cable ‘tails’ which serve the four berths at Wave Hub are in the right position, and have surveyed the entire length of the cable.

Wave Hub is being funded with £12.5 million from the South West RDA, £20 million from the European Regional Development Fund Convergence Programme and £9.5 million from the UK government.