A joint-venture to develop the first wave power project off the Shetland Islands has been launched by Pelamis Wave Power and Vattenfal it was announced this week (16th December). The launch of the joint-venture, called Aegir, coincided with the opening of Vattenfall’s new office in Edinburgh.

Aegir, explained Pelamis in a statement, has been set up to explore wave power development opportunities in Scottish waters and plans to deploy Pelamis Wave Power’s second generation ‘P-2’ wave energy convertor on the developed site.

Aegir is keen to identify and confirm a potential site off the Shetland Islands’ west coast and make progress towards installing a project up to 20 megawatts in scale. This would make the project a potential candidate for the Saltire Prize, the Scottish Government’s marine power innovation award.

Dr Helmar Rendez, the Head of Group Function Strategies at Vattenfall, which incorporates the research and development arm of the European energy company, said: "Vattenfall intends to make electricity clean by 2050 and halve its carbon emissions by 2030; this means we must invest in the green energy technologies of today and tomorrow.

"The partnership with Pelamis allows us to work on developing a site that will prove very productive when we make wave power a commercial reality. We are pleased to tie-up with Pelamis and take this project forward as we have big hopes for the future of wave power and see Scotland as a good place to do this."

Neels Kriek, the new Pelamis Wave Power Chief Executive, said: "We are delighted to be working with Vattenfall on this ground breaking project which we hope will be one of many for our Scottish built P-2 Pelamis machine. We also anticipate this project being a leading candidate for the Scottish Government’s Saltire Prize for commercially proven wave power technology."

Aegir is working towards installing a first phase, multi-machine array, with an installed capacity of up to 20 megawatts (MW). Vattenfall’s ambition is for wave power projects to grow to the scale of offshore wind projects and the Aegir project is seen as a key stepping stone to that ambition and the opportunity that exists in the Shetland Isles. The first phase will be installed by 2014 if planning consent is gained and the planned subsea cable between the Shetland Islands and mainland of Scotland is constructed.

A programme of engagement with Shetland islanders is already underway and Clare Lavelle, the Project Manager with Pelamis and Aegir, underlined the commitment to effective engagement by saying: "We will work closely with Shetland islanders right through this process to identify and develop the best possible project because we recognise that this cannot be done without the support of the people and businesses of the Shetland Islands."