SEA Installs New Technology For Biscay Marine Energy Park
Cohort subsidiary SEA has utilised its advanced power connection technology to successfully install a 13.2kV cable connection in support of the Oceantec wave energy device located at the Biscay Marine Energy Park (Bimep) test site in northern Spain. Bimep tests prototype wave-energy generation devices in advance of commercial production to ensure economic and technological readiness and reliability and safety within commercial deployment. Once the devices have been verified, they can be considered as ready for mass production and operational use.
A team of engineers and technicians from SEA Subsea Engineering division terminated the device cable connection onshore and travelled offshore to connect the two halves at the wave site. The device is now fully operational and generating wave power back to shore.
The Bimep connections are a new variant of the nine 33kV connections first installed by SEA in 2009 at the Orkney-based European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) test centre for renewable marine energy. The connections supplied by SEA were a world-first in wave and tidal energy distribution. They have provided 100% availability for power generation, status monitoring, and device control, allowing developers at Bimep and EMEC to test and generate power to the grid. In addition, SEA has delivered several other engineering projects to provide developers of renewables with reliable shore connections to export power and maintain control and monitoring of their devices.
Managing Director Steve Hill said that SEA is driving towards the goal of standard economical connections, but is able to deliver a variety of bespoke solutions while the industry continues to adapt and develop power generation technologies. He commented: “The power connection technology developed by SEA is readily transferrable from Oil and Gas into Marine Renewables and we are proud to have lead the way on this work both in Scotland and internationally.”