Ocean Energy

Development Programme
Annual Report 2011
Contents
04 This is Ocean Energy Business Development and Management
Site Development
06 The Aegir Shetland Project
08 Partnership with
the Local Community
09 Tonn and AMETS veijo.huusko
Technology Development
10 Pelamis
10 Technology Readiness Level
10 Monitoring Wave Developers positioning in the field of ocean energy.
11 Standpoint Project 2011
11 Seabased Wave Energy –
Project Maren Gunilla Andrée
Business Development
12 Country by Country Overview conversion technologies to determine when and where they
14 Industrial Partnerships
15 Environmental Responsibility a comprehensive business review of the ocean opportunity.
© Vattenfall
Photo: Pelamis Wave Power Ltd.
Contact Persons
Introduction and
executive summary
Veijo Huusko Jörgen Josefsson Göran Franzén
+46 70 242 80 70 +46 70 620 33 22 +46 72 245 99 83
jorgen.josefsson goran.franzen
@vattenfall.com @vattenfall.com @vattenfall.com I am pleased to present the first annual report for Vattenfall’s
Ocean Energy Development Programme (OEDP). This annual
Technology Development report describes last year’s achievements of the OEDP and
additionally provides a comprehensive overview of Vattenfall’s
Björn Bolund Oskar D Fängström
Since 2006, Vattenfall AB R&D Projects has been investigating
+46 76 141 35 85 +46 72 234 24 38 +46 703 86 34 70
gunilla.andree bjorn.bolund oskar.danielsson-fangstrom the potential for ocean energy to offer a major new renewable
@vattenfall.com @vattenfall.com @poyry.com energy source, and in 2009 Vattenfall established a formal
ocean energy programme. Our early work focused on reviewing
could be viable.
In early 2011 we completed our investigations and finalized
Our proposed business plan was approved by the EGM in April
Per Holmberg Eoghan Maguire 2011. The bottom line of the business plan is to focus our efforts
+46 70 378 35 73 +44 78 25 32 94 22 on a demonstration of one of the existing leading technologies
per.holmberg eoghan.maguire
and also to concentrate on a leading market for ocean energy.
@vattenfall.com @vattenfall.com
In this report we present the status of the ocean energy oppor-
tunity. You will learn why and how we have decided to focus on
Scotland as the leading market for early projects. The report
Site Development also introduces Pelamis – the ocean energy technology that we Veijo Huusko. Photo: Elisabeth Redlig
are pursuing. You can read about our first 10MW wave farm
project in Shetland, using this technology, and why we are ex- In 2012 we will continue to intensively pursue these themes. For
cited by the relationship with the local community organisations the coming year, I hope we can have enough confidence in our
on Shetland. technical evaluations and industrial partnerships to order our
As you read this report, I hope you will see three common first 1MW machine for deployment in Orkney, Scotland in 2014.
themes that we have deliberately adopted in our strategy for This would provide us with the competence and confidence to
Kristin Andersen Erik Sparrevik Colin Stewart Harvey Appelbe ocean R&D: consider ordering machines for our 10MW farm in 2016, which
+46 70 618 38 97 +46 70 384 47 94 +44 79 72 13 14 34 +35 38 68 22 69 92 in turn might allow us to consider more than 40MW by 2018,
kristin.andersen erik.sparrevik colin.stewart harvey.appelbe when we expect several technologies to be ready and proven.
@vattenfall.com @vattenfall.com @vattenfall.com @tonnenergy.ie l Value: We are working on ocean energy before it is commer-
cial because we are creating measurable value for Vattenfall To summarize, I am very pleased with our first year of results
in terms of competence and a credible position that can be and also excited about the potential of the ocean energy devel-
realised when the commercial market opens. Working now opment programme in the near future; not least because of the
strong team of smart people we have working on it. Once you
Communications is more valuable than waiting and trying to buy in later.
have read this report, I encourage you to contact them directly
l Partners: We are minimising the risks and costs of accu- to learn more about their work. I know you will find it compelling.
mulating this value by working through partnerships, where
others contribute competence and cash to the work that Veijo Huusko
needs to be done in a way that fits with value creation for Director, Low Emitting Generation
Vattenfall. Vattenfall AB
Maria Parent
+46 76 807 65 50
l Companies: We accumulate the value of our investment in
maria.parent
@vattenfall.com ocean R&D by doing the work through purpose-built com-
panies in the local market, where the value of the company
increases as our work succeeds.
Ocean Energy Annual Report 2011 3
 This is Ocean Energy
Ocean energy is a huge untapped renewable energy resource that represents a
major growth opportunity for the coastal regions of Northern Europe. According to
EU targets, this massive natural renewable energy resource off Northern Europe’s
western coasts could be harvested by about 188GW installed capacity by 2050.
The wave energy industry could soon
become the next wind industry, with a
similar level of economic activity and
decarbonisation potential, but it will not
happen automatically. As with any new
energy source, it will take a concerted
effort to convert this opportunity for
Europe.
Among the pioneers of wave power
Those communities and organisations
that move early will have the best chance
of benefitting from the opportunities
linked to ocean energy. Consequently,
Vattenfall initiated some ocean energy
projects in 2006, in order to remain
among the leaders of sustainable energy
production. The team completed an initial
review phase in 2010 and has concluded
a thorough evaluation of the ocean energy
opportunity. They were convinced that
the first ‘pilot’ wave farms of 10MW from
2015 should be in Shetland to the North
of Scotland. If all goes as expected,
Vattenfall plans to ramp up to farms of
50MW and then commercial scale farms
of >100MW after 2020. But this is still a
long way to go.
Adding value to Vattenfall’s production
portfolio
Ocean energy could make a significant
contribution to decarbonising Vattenfall’s
power generation portfolio, because a
large quantity of energy can be harnessed
from the ocean movement with negligible
CO2 emissions. Offshore wave is consid-
ered a relatively environmental benign en-
ergy source, with limited negative impact
on the local environment. For some spe-
cies the impact could even be positive.
However, important knowledge gaps still
exist and Vattenfall is closely involved in
the ongoing research within the field.
Suitable regions for ocean energy
Pelamis, a Scottish technology, illustrates
The launch of one machine segment at Pelamis docs in Leith, Scotland. Photo: Pelamis Wave Power Ltd
how a region like Scotland is currently
leading this race largely due to its clearly
articulated political commitment. Conse-
quently, Vattenfall’s investments in ocean
energy will happen first in Scotland, close
to the leading technologies, strong wave
resources and adequate feed-in supports.
In time there is hope that Ireland, with
its massive natural ocean resources,
will follow suite, although policy building
blocks remain to be put in place. Recent
announcements from the Isles project
are suggesting a subsea grid will further
unlock the marine renewables there. This
will be critical to realising the export di-
mension of Scotland and Ireland’s marine
potential, which is much larger than the
domestic market can accept. The British
Isles alone should contribute some 5GW
of clean ocean energy to Europe by 2035.
Constraints that ocean energy faces
Although the technology has been devel-
oped since the 1970s and a few full scale
devices are in the water producing power,
the products remains in an embryonic
state. The current lack of capital has
slowed this development. Industry as-
sociations estimate that capital required
by these small companies collectively is
just EUR 157 million. Still, private capital
is not available to them and the recent
funding announcements from the EC of
EUR 22 million, the UK Government of
EUR 24 million and the Scottish Govern-
ment of EUR 43 million are welcome, but
public funds are not sufficient.
A promising outlook
Like any new energy source it will take
time to refine the emerging wave conver-
sion technology to survive and operate
viably in the violent oceans. It could take
as long as 20 years before wave electri-
city is at the same level as offshore wind
today. This is still compelling because
the cost of wave energy could potentially
continue to reduce at a pace faster than
offshore wind. Furthermore, there are
substantial benefits of having both wave
and wind on the grid, since wave energy
continues to arrive from the large oceans
long after winds have calmed after the
storm and is so much more predictable.
While the benefits of ocean energy are
compelling, they are far from inevitable.
A concerted effort will be required to
overcome the remaining hurdles.
Upcoming challenges
By working at this early stage Vattenfall
can carve out a valuable position by de-
veloping its competence and credibility in
time to exploit the emerging opportunity.
The company is motivated to work in
ocean energy to show the opportunity to
the existing large industrial players and
communities so that they will pick up the
high
medium
low
very low
Wave resource distribution in Europe
Graphic: Vattenfall, Source: Aquaret
baton, bringing to bear their significant
capabilities and financial capacity to
commercialise the opportunity. However,
there remains a lot of difficult R&D work
to be done in the challenging open ocean
environment, before this type of energy
could be regarded as a viable new energy
source. ■
This is Ocean Energy 5
The Aegir
Shetland Project
Aegir Wave Power Limited
is a joint venture company
between Vattenfall (owning
66 %) and the Edinburgh
based manufacturers of
Pelamis wave energy
machines, Pelamis Wave
Power Ltd (owning 34 %).
The focus of the Aegir
company is to develop,
construct and operate one
of the first small wave farms.
Good reasons for Aegir
Since wave energy is still at an early stage
of development with a lot of uncertainty
and risks, the Aegir Wave Farm is focused
on the task of demonstrating wave power
at the modest scale of 10MW. Success-
6 Site Development
fully showing that wave energy is a viable
source of electricity at this scale will allow
for further, larger projects to be developed
and built in the future. In parallel, the Aegir
project will provide an excellent platform
to gather valuable skills, experience and
knowledge that can be used to maximise
the benefits of future projects. Working
closely with the leading technology com-
pany, who happen to be Scottish, is an
excellent way of introducing Vattenfall into
the ocean energy ecosystem, and to build
competence.
Functioning of the wave farm
At 10MW, the wave farm will consist of
10 to 14 Pelamis wave energy converters
moored offshore in waters deeper than
50 metres off the coast of Shetland. Elec-
tricity generated by the machines will be
exported back to the island via a subsea
cable on the seabed, where it will be fed
in to the local electricity grid via a small
substation. Once the wave farm is up and
The 10 MW project is situated
off the Shetland isles. Shetland
is an archipelago off the north-
east coast of Scotland. The
islands lie some 80 kilometres
to the northeast of Orkney and
280 kilometres southeast of
the Faroe Islands and form
part of the division between
the Atlantic Ocean to the west,
and the North Sea to the east.
The archipelago has an oceanic
climate, a complex geology and
a rugged coastline.
Graphic: Vattenfall
running Pelamis machines will, from time to
time, need to be towed back to sheltered
waters for maintenance work.
Each machine is held on site with a
mooring system, consisting mainly of
anchors set into the seabed and chains
lying along the seabed to rope tethers
which connect to the nose section of the
machine via the yoke structure. Every
wave converter will have its own moo-
ring system but will be linked electrically
to neighbouring machines by flexible
umbilical cables. These will hang in the
middle of the water column with sufficient
slack to allow each machine to move
independently without putting tension
through the electrical cables. Power from
all machines will be gathered via the
network of flexible umbilicals and join one
static cable on the seabed landing on
Shetland and then via a 600MW high-
voltage direct current (HVDC) intercon-
nector to the mainland.
Finding the optimal position for the wave Several Pelamis converters can be connected together
converters and be linked to shore through a single seabed export cable.
Development work establishing the opti- Graphic: Aegir Wave Power
mal location, design and layout for the
wave farm has already begun, and Aegir
has identified an area of search within row, machines will be set side-by-side Environmental assessment Scotland in 2014. Aegir hopes the first
which it plans to locate the project. The separated by a space of about 300 m. The environmental assessment considers power export from the site will be in 2016
area of search is approximately 100km2 The two rows of machines will be offset the use of the area by other stakeholders, and, once built, the wave farm will occupy
and lies off the southwest coast of the to reduce any effects of the front row on e.g. commercial shipping and fishing, as only a small fraction of the current area of
Shetland Mainland between Kettla Ness the machines behind them. The artist’s well as the ecological status and sen- search with a footprint of about 2 km2.
and the Bay of Scousburgh, with the impression above shows what a project sitivity of the area, e.g. environmentally The Aegir project represents an excel-
outer boundary almost 10 km offshore. with four machines might look like. protected areas for seabirds and marine lent opportunity to learn more about the
The final position of the machines In addition to getting planning con- mammals. This information and the dialo- impacts and interactions associated with
within the wave farm will be influenced sents, the construction of the wave farm gue with different stakeholders, interest wave farms. By maximising the learning
by a number of factors being assessed will also require the Shetland transmis- organizations, and regulators is a crucial from this small demonstration through
at the moment. This includes technical, sion link to the Scottish Mainland to have step in the ongoing environmental impact all phases, from development to decom-
financial and environmental aspects as been completed to allow for power to be assessment (EIA) process. missioning, it will help future wave farm
well. A holistic approach to the siting is exported to the main UK network. developments around Shetland to be
taken, aiming to identify the optimal loca- Having secured agreement from The Current status and future planning planned and developed such that wave
tion considering local community, stake- Crown Estate to locate the project here, This will allow Aegir to develop a detailed energy can help contribute positively to
holders, and wild life. The preferred option Aegir is currently focused on completing design of the project and its potential the Shetland economy, communities and
will have two rows of machines, front and site survey work, engineering designs and interaction in order to support the applica- environment in a sustainable and compli-
back, running parallel to the coastline carrying out an environmental impact state- tion for required planning permissions and mentary way. ■
with machines facing the sea. In each ment. licenses from regulators such as Marine
Site Development 7
Partnership with
the Local Community
In November 2011, the Shetland Council and Shetland Charitable Trust entered
a partnership with Vattenfall to develop a roadmap for ocean energy development
around the Islands. Katrina Wiseman describes the partnership with Vattenfall as a
representative for the Shetland Islands Council and Shetland Charitable Trust.
Katrina Wiseman, Shetland Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Veijo Huusko, Vattenfall AB, Bill Manson, Shetland
Charitable Trust, Alistair Cooper, Shetland Island Council. Photo: Shetland Islands Council and Shetland Charitable
Trust
By combining Vattenfall’s knowledge of
technology and energy development with
our knowledge of our offshore environ-
ment and the community we believe
we have the best chance of success in
ocean energy, and that we will secure
the most community benefit from early
success in Shetland, including the option
to co-invest in projects with Vattenfall to
reap future profits.
The Shetland Islands are positioned in
the path of the strong predominant winds
and storms which blow over the North
Atlantic Ocean, so it is little surprise that
the Islands possess one of the world’s
strongest wave and wind energy resourc-
es. The strength of this resource makes
the Shetland Islands an ideal location to
site a wave farm project. evolved and grown out of the Island’s
High experience in marine environment
and resource planning
Shetland is viewed to be one of the most
promising locations in the world for the
development of renewable energy. The
8 Site Development
wind, waves and tides offer the opportu-
nity to generate significant amounts of
electricity, much more than required by
the Islands.
Aside from our excellent wave re-
sources Shetland is very well placed for
developing ocean energy with 40 years
of experience in oil and gas; expertise
and capabilities in marine engineering
from fishing, aquaculture and oil and gas;
and a proactive community with a track
record of working closely with the energy
industry. Our community understands the
marine environment, the challenges and
the potential rewards.
Shetland is unique from a marine spatial
planning perspective. The Islands have
a rich and diverse maritime heritage
geographical remoteness and the fishing
and oil and gas industries, which has
resulted in a strong and dynamic marine
management ethos. Shetland Islands
Council has developed regulatory tools
to enable the management of our waters
Tonn and AMETS
Tonn Power Limited is a joint venture company between Vattenfall (owning 51 %),
the Irish wave energy technology company Wavebob Ltd and the Irish power utility
Bord Gáis Eireann (both together owning 49 %).
The focus of Tonn company is to develop, eager to help Ireland develop its opportuni-
construct and operate wave farms in ties, Tonn entered a partnership with SEAI
Ireland, to the extent that is permitted and ESBI to develop a full scale test site
by the local market conditions. Following called the Atlantic Marine Energy Test Site
positive pronouncements by the Minister (AMETS). Tonn’s role in the project was to
for Energy in 2009, Vattenfall hoped that work on the environmental impact assess-
through the Zetland County Council Act
a 5MW demonstration wave farm could ment, giving Vattenfall a good opportunity
1974, promoting the conservancy and
be developed in Ireland by Tonn. The to build competence for similar work in
control of development in the coastal
company submitted two applications to Scotland. SEAI’s role, representing the Irish
area of Shetland up to 12 miles off the
secure exclusive rights to explore two po- Government, was to manage and finance Wavebob (yellow) and Pelamis (red) machines with
coast. The Council has also implemented associated moorings deployed at AMETS.
tential locations. During 2010, Vattenfall the construction of the subsea cables and
a Regional Marine Spatial Plan to actively Graphic: Frank O’Reilly
worked, through Tonn, with the local Irish other infrastructure. Vattenfall encourages
manage the marine resources, allowing
authorities (SEAI) and the local power Irish Government to stay the course. construction of the site for some year.
the planning of ocean energy projects
utility ESB International (ESBI) to make Through Tonn, Vattenfall worked with The appetite to fund the AMETS project
alongside fishing and other activities.
progress in matters such as the consent- ESBI to complete the environmental reflects the Irish Government’s careful
ing procedures. It became apparent that impact assessment, which included more attitude toward wave energy R&D. As a
The Shetland
the ‘first come, first serve’ process to than a year of marine mammal observa- result of these market conditions, and
community benefits from Aegir
allocate seabed sites was packed with tions, bird surveys and benthic seabed wanting to focus on only one market,
Shetland happens to emit more CO2 per
more than 130 applications, many of sampling. The environmental impact Vattenfall encouraged the Tonn board to
capita than America. Acutely aware that
which were from speculative developers statement was completed and the consent adopt a holding pattern to conserve its
our dependence on fossil fuels is unsustain-
hoping to secure an asset. application was filed with the Department cash reserves until Ireland is more capable
able, we are highly motivated to ensure that
of Environment in December 2011. While of exploiting the opportunity in the future.
a new and sustainable energy source is
Gaining knowledge on environmental the consent process is expected to be A review of the project opportunity in
brought about.
impacts of wave energy at the AMETS completed in the first quarter of 2012, Ireland is expected in 2013, by which time
The partnership will give us valuable first-
Realising that the permitting process for given Ireland’s financial situation, it is the market conditions in Ireland and Scot-
hand experience from Aegir that will inform
commercial sites was not functioning, and unlikely that the Irish Government will fund land will be clearer. ■
a strategy to enable the whole Shetland Is-
lands community to capture the ecological,
economic and social benefits of its sizeable Graphic: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Marine Institute
ocean energy potential and the planned
electricity cable to the Scottish mainland.
For Shetland, renewable energy offers the
prospect of a new and growing industry
that will generate jobs and strengthen skills
among local people. It could also create
diversification opportunities for existing
firms operating in the marine and engineer-
ing sectors. As renewable energy activity
increases, Shetland’s image as a Renewable
Energy location strengthens. The greatest
chance of significant benefits arises from
being involved from the start. ■
Site Development 9
 Pelamis
One of the existing Pelamis P2 machines at EMEC off the Orkney Islands 2010. Photo: Pelamis Wave Power Ltd
Pelamis Wave Power is recognized as world leader within the wave energy industry
with regard to technological maturity and offshore experience. The Pelamis wave
energy converter resembles a 200 meter long sea snake, floating on the ocean
surface, facing the waves. It is a semi-submerged, articulated structure composed of
cylindrical sections linked by hinged joints.
More Technology Development Projects
Technology
Readiness Level (TRL)
Wave power technology is an immature
sector with developers in various stages
of development as well as different
approaches to the development process.
As a prospective buyer of wave power
converters Vattenfall has a need for a
systemic metric of the development pro-
cess both in order to assess the develop-
ment of each concept and as a way of
communicating to developers what we
expect from their development process.
For this end Vattenfall has chosen to use
the so called Technology Readiness Level
(TRL) approach originally developed by
NASA and adapted for wave power by
Irish utility ESB International. In short, TRL
divides the development process
10 Technology Development
from idea to commercial readiness into
nine levels. In the wave power adaption
each level is described in terms of what
needs to be achieved, covering aspects
from numerical and experimental verifica-
tion to system configuration. Vattenfall is
actively working for TRL to be used as a
standard for the whole sector.
Monitoring Wave Developers
While the Pelamis wave concept is
Vattenfall’s main track, other concepts
are also evaluated in view of the high risk
associated with wave power technology
development. Three other deep water
technologies (presented below) have
been chosen for further studies based on
their advanced development status:
1. PowerBouy (Ocean Power Technologies,
USA): The PowerBouy is a point absor-
ber working against a so-called heave
plate. Hydraulic pistons in the section
below the buoy harvest the resultant
force between the buoy and plate.
PowerBouy device. Photo: Ocean Power Technologies Ltd
2. AWS-III (AWS Ocean Energy, Scotland):
Basically a floating raft with rubber-
covered chambers. Waves acting on
the rubber membranes cause a
The wave-induced motion of the hinged
joints is resisted by hydraulic rams, which
pump high-pressure fluid through hydraulic
motors via smoothing accumulators. The
hydraulic motors drive electrical genera-
tors to produce electricity. Power from all
the joints is fed down a single umbilical
cable to a junction on the seabed. Several
devices can be connected together and
linked to shore through a single seabed
cable. Important features of the Pelamis
concept are the ability to tune the motion
of the structure for optimized wave energy
absorption and the survivability charac-
teristics, for example the structure’s dive
through higher waves.
Programme history
Funded in 1998, the Pelamis wave energy
converter has undergone a stepped
development programme including simula-
tions, tank tests, scale sea trial and sev-
eral full-scale offshore sea trials. Pelamis
have deployed four first generation (P1)
machines followed by two second gen-
eration (P2) devices in 2009 and 2011.
Having monitored the Pelamis tech-
nology since 2008, Vattenfall engaged
in-house personnel to perform a technical
due diligence in 2009, gaining knowledge
and identifying the need for technical and
cost-related improvements in the existing
P2 machine. To follow up, a joint cost
volume change
and consequently
a pressure diffe-
rence between the
chambers. Energy
is extracted via an
air turbine when
the air is trying to
stabilize the pres-
sure between each Wavebob device
Photo: Wavebob Ltd
pair of chambers.
3. Wavebob (Wavebob Ltd, Ireland): See
text under Standpoint Project 2011
for further information.
Standpoint Project 2011
The Standpoint (Standardisation of Point
Absorber Wave Energy Convertors by
Demonstration) project is a joint EU project
between six members (Wavebob, GL Group,
Hydac, Gernerg, Laborec and Vattenfall
AB), which will seek to demonstrate a
reduction and performance enhance-
ment scoping study was carried out at
the beginning of 2011. This study, which
included a detailed project cost model,
concluded that a ‘scaled up’ configuration
based on the existing technology platform
of the P2 offered economic advantages
without excessive risk.
Current status of Vattenfall’s Pelamis
programme
Together with a business case model,
Vattenfall set out and pursued a route
forward towards an enhanced P2 machine
(P2e), which comprises the following steps:
1. Work with Pelamis to reduce the cost
and increase the technical perfor-
mance of the existing wave device
(the P2) and choose a new machine
configuration going forward. While
Vattenfall helps to set the require-
ments and derive the necessary work
strands, most of the technical work is
carried out by Pelamis
2. Perform tank test to validate the
numerical model and test survivability.
3. Build and test a full scale device
at EMEC (European Marine Energy
Centre) during 2014-2015.
4. Evaluate and build a 10MW pilot plant.
Wavebob wave energy converter at full
size for deployment in a pilot zone off the
Portuguese coast in 2013. The Wavebob
is an axis-symmetric, self-reacting point
absorber. The construction comprises two
bodies, the torus and the float-neck tank
(FNT). Whilst the torus rides the waves the
FNT is tuned to move out of phase with
the waves. The resultant force drives a
hydraulic or a rack and pinion power take-
off system. Vattenfall is responsible for the
risk assessment of the design, manufac-
turing and deployment of the device and
has arranged several design workshops.
Illustration of Wavebob functioning
Graphic: Wavebob Ltd
In late 2011, the first activities aimed
at reducing cost and increasing per-
formance was undertaken. This work
detailed the possible positive impact of
active control, altered geometry, increased
size and new material. A number of work
strands were started where the outcome
will help decide on the configuration for
the first machine to be deployed in EMEC
2014. The work also highlights the pos-
sible future improvements and the effort
needed to get there.
Outlook and upcoming challenges
The first part of the work has focused
on reducing the remaining uncertainty
and confirming the economic performance
of the ‘P2e’, to provide a basis for Vatten-
fall procurement, detailed design and
subsequent build. For 2012, attention is
now expanded to include challenges in
the subsea grid, operations and mainte-
nance as well as insurance. The outcome
of current work and the result of the tank
test in 2012 will hopefully emerge into
a compelling business case leading to
the purchase of Vattenfall’s first Pelamis
wave power converter. ■
Seabased Wave Energy –
Project Maren
The Maren project started in 2008 and
is a test of the Seabased wave energy
devices on the west coast of Norway.
The Seabased concept is to have a buoy
floating on the surface connected by a
wire to a linear generator mounted on the
seabed. Two units and a subsea grid were
deployed in 2009 and the project naturally
expired by December 2011. An evaluation
of the project will follow during 2012.
Seabased wave generators and sub-sea transfor-
mer at Runde, Norway. Photo: Vattenfall
Technology Development 11
 Ocean Energy in other
European countries
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the sector.
Grid access is the only factor, which needs to
be improved in the near future.

Many countries around the world have the natural resources for ocean
energy. Nevertheless, not only natural preconditions are crucial, but
political commitment and financial support also play an important role
in pursuing a sustained R&D development programme in this area.
Ocean Energy around the world
Due to the earth’s rotation the prevailing wind direction
is from west to east. Consequently, the best wave energy
conditions are found at exposed west coasts around the
world, since waves are created by wind blowing over the
sea surface. So it is natural that there is some R&D activity
in countries such as Australia, USA and Canada where the
wave energy resource is strong. Other countries with good
resources like Chile, South Africa and various Ocean Island
States are also showing interest in wave power. However, a
rich energy source is not enough to make progress, but a
broad programme of supports is required. In many of these
countries the support for R&D in wave energy is insufficient
or once-off.
Pioneers in wave energy development –
Scotland and the UK
In Europe, however, several countries have ambitious and
sustained wave energy development programmes in progress.
First and foremost, the UK and especially Scotland have
among the best resources in Europe and have probably
contributed more public funding to wave energy R&D than
the rest of the world put together. In addition, the UK has
the Renewable Obligation Certificate system as a mecha-
nism to provide revenue support for new renewable energy
sources. In the case of wave and tidal this is as high as five
times the normal price for electricity, equivalent to perhaps
EUR 392 per MWh for machines connected before April
2017. Although this will be reviewed as part of the electricity
market reform in the UK, it is expected that adequate revenue
support will be available for some time, while wave and tidal
become commercially viable and make a contribution to the
UK’s renewable energy needs.
This illustrates the uniquely strong political support for
wave and tidal in the UK and in particular in Scotland, where
Alex Salmond’s SNP party has an overall majority. Aside from
financial support, having strongly articulated political com-
mitment has ensured that other enablers, such as consenting
procedures, are streamlined. Notably the UK hosts the vast
majority of technology development companies.
2 + + + (+) Ø Good wave Ireland has arguably the most high quality wave
+ + resources, resources in Europe. Ireland had an ambitious
+ financial phased development programme in 2006 in-
situation cluding both a substantial feed-in tariff as well
thwarts as public grants for R&D. Due to the financial
development. crisis it is unlikely that Ireland will be able to
afford the financial or political attention needed
This is illustrated well by the fact that the first full scale test to grasp the ocean energy opportunity from
site of some 11 berths is being tested in the open ocean. Scotland in the short term. A critical element to
Ireland’s role in the sector will be its ability to put
The British Isles as Vattenfall’s in place export agreements to supply the UK.
prevailing Ocean Energy area
Compared to other countries and their respective political + + + + Robust France has good wave resources along its
3 Ö
commitment towards ocean energy (see other countries + + (+) actors, newly Atlantic coast. The wave power sector is in its
on the right), today the British Isles in Scotland and the UK + developing infancy but a recently introduced feed-in tariff
have the most favorable conditions for pursuing an ocean sector. for marine energy in combination with a new
energy programme. This is why Vattenfall has chosen to focus public R&D programme will create opportunities.
its ocean energy R&D work on the British Isles as there However, it is likely that initial efforts will be
are both excellent wave resources and a genuine political focused on tidal energy.
will to develop the sector. The company’s immediate efforts
are concentrated on Scotland and the UK where adequate None
political and financial supports exist. 4 + None + + Ò In the near Portugal has a good feed-in tariff for small-scale
+ (+) term mainly deployment and is in the process of developing an
High expectations for R&D Ocean Energy a proving infrastructure for deployment of wave power. How-
in Scotland and the UK ground for ever, lack of domestic technology and/or project
There remains a number of market challenges. Ocean energy prototypes. developers makes Portugal dependent on attrac-
must show that it is approaching viability in a timely manner ting foreign developers in competition with UK.
if it is to continue to receive adequate support. In particular
it must contribute to Scotland’s target to meet an equiva- + None ? + The Spain has good wave resources along its northern
5 Ö
lent of a 100 percent demand for electricity from renewable (+) + “negotiable” coast and off the Canaries. There is a thriving
energy by 2020, which is the main political motivation. This tariff is an publicly funded wave power programme focused
may be frustrated by the technology company’s ability to unknown. on R&D in place involving many Spanish com-
raise private funding to improve their product performance. Very panies and institutions, however somewhat
It may also be inhibited by insufficient transmission grid ac- domestic isolated from mainstream wave power develop-
cess, which is very constrained in the remote coastal areas profile for ment. Feed-in tariffs or similar remains to be
of Scotland, such as Shetland, where these projects are best sector. introduced to be commercially attractive.
situated. To address these concerns the OEDP are working
closely with other utilities as well as other stakeholders to
help the Scottish government to shape new policies. Additio- 6 + + - - N/A There is a near Of the Nordic countries Norway has by far the
nally, Vattenfall has been working to develop the opportunities + total lack of best physical resource, on the level of UK and
in Ireland where the transmission grid is planned strategically + governmental Ireland. However, Norway does not have the
and it may be possible to more easily locate commercial interest. same need to develop new renewable energy
projects, if an export regime with the UK is put in place. ■ sources.
N/A + None - (+) N/A Some public Sweden has marginal wave resources and there
funding for is e.g. no specific feed-in tariff or similar. There
technology is however some public funding for technology
development. developers motivated by export opportunities,
as well as for a 10 MW wave demonstration
farm on the Swedish west coast.

12 Business Development Business Development 13


Installation of the mooring blocks at the EMEC nursery test site.
Photo: EMEC Ltd
Unlike the offshore wind supply chain, the
wave industry is not taking an existing
product and putting it offshore. There
are no existing large companies present
in the sector able to do the R&D work
required to get machines into the water.
Wave energy converter products are
currently being developed by very small
companies, the largest of which has 70
people working for it and has raised EUR
60 million in total.
Vattenfall realised that in order to scale
up at the required pace the wave energy
supply chain needed large industrial
players to put their engineering capabil-
ity, manufacturing capacity and financial
backing into the sector.
Ocean energy still an infant industry
The tidal technology space has seen
the arrival of companies like Rolls Royce,
Alstom and Siemens. Familiar with the
rotating turbine technology of tidal
stream product inventors, these large
industrials have bought out the original
development companies and adopted
their technologies as their own. This has
not yet happened in wave energy, because
the technology used is unfamiliar and the
timescales to have proven designs ready
to be productised are longer.
In order to introduce large industrial
14 Business Development
Industrial Environmental Responsibility
Partnerships Effective management of our environmental responsibilities is essential for the
success of the Vattenfall’s Ocean Energy Development Programme (OEDP) to
develop commercial wave farms. The OEDP is working actively with environmental
At the beginning of 2011 the Ocean Energy issues, both within the Aegir Shetland project and through international research.
Development Programme (OEDP) completed a
comprehensive review of its business plan. As part Progress towards consent sea bottom, as well as the presence of vestigations are fairly standardized,
of the analysis the OEDP realised that in order for The Aegir Shetland project reached an marine mammals and sea birds. The base- many knowledge gaps exist in relation
the business plan to be valuable, the number and size important environmental milestone in line environmental information will be fed to wave energy. As this industry is only
autumn 2011, when the ”Scoping Report” into the EIA and be of crucial importance emerging now, the legislative process
of wave farms would have to ramp up significantly was issued to consent authorities. This for identifying the optimal site layout for and guidelines are being developed. It
from 2020 to 2035, once the technology was proven described the wave farm and the local the wave farm and grid route within the is important for OEDP that Vattenfall is
at a commercial scale. This would require deployment environment at a high level, suggesting larger development area. actively involved in their formulation to
which baseline investigations should be influence the development of the future
scales (100s of MW/year) similar to offshore wind undertaken to characterise the site and Field surveying started framework. While valuable knowledge and
today. The industry may need to be producing more the potential effects. Some field surveying has already started: experiences can be transferred from the
than one full scale machine per week in 2020. Today The scoping phase is one of the the measurement of the wave climate us- offshore wind industry, more is needed.
mandatory phases within the so called ing two different buoys deployed in 2011 The environmental team of the OEDP and
it can manage one machine a year. ”Environmental Impact Assessment” (EIA), is an important milestone. These buoys Aegir maintain close contacts with lead-
a several-year long process providing will stay at their locations for several ing research groups, attending several
the basis for the consent application for years, collecting wave height, length, and important environmental meetings and
the project and, eventually, the consent direction. The wave data is important workshops, both as the role of a project
players into the wave energy sector, first technology project (the deployment decision taken by the regulator Marine because it gives information about the fi- developer but also as a selected expert
the OEDP set about forming a system of P2e at EMEC), building competence Scotland, in consultation with other nancial, technical and biological feasibility advisor. Vattenfall sits on the board of
integration business with two large and capability before building wave farms. authorities and stakeholders. By issuing of the Shetland project. It is used to de- various EU projects, as well as on the
organisations. During 2011 a comprehen- This way, Vattenfall hopes to significantly the scoping report and receiving scop- termine the amount and nature of energy largest national R&D programme for
sive business development exercise was reduce the risk associated with the first ing opinions back, the Aegir project (see in the waves; meaning how much energy environmental research in the UK. Through
performed to evaluate all of the potential 10MW Aegir project. page 6) is now able to move into the the wave farm will be able to convert into Tonn, Vattenfall has also gained experience
partners. impact assessment phase in 2012. This renewable electricity. working on the EIA of the AMETS wave
Industrial partnerships support utility will take more than one year, including a test site project in Ireland that has just
Partnerships with Babcock and Abengoa cooperations – E.ON and Iberdrola variety of field surveys, e.g. investigations Using results from international research been submitted for formal consent. ■
In November 2011 the OEDP entered The Nautimus partnership also provides a of the sediment and biological life at the Although offshore environmental in-
a partnership with Babcock, a large UK basis for Vattenfall to coordinate its work
Operations & Maintenance (O&M) com- with other utilities also working on ocean
pany, and Abengoa a large Spanish EPC energy. Both E.ON and Iberdrola (Scottish Photo of starfish identified during diving inventory of sea bed habitats at AMETS. Photo: MERC consultants
(Engineering, Procurement and Construc- Power Renewables) have purchased
tion) company. These two represented a Pelamis wave energy products and have
good fit with Vattenfall’s business plan for deployed them at the European Marine
ocean energy, since they shared the ap- Energy Centre (EMEC) test site. Through
petite to develop this opportunity in the Nautimus, Vattenfall plans to buy a third
UK. Together they provided the requisite enhanced machine (P2e) and deploy it
O&M and EPC capabilities for renewable alongside the existing two machines at
energy in the offshore environment. EMEC. This will provide a valuable oppor-
tunity to reduce costs, and share valuable
Nautimus Ltd – a joint venture formed by insights of array effects and device per-
Vattenfall formance. Where E.ON and Iberdrola will
In December 2011, Vattenfall founded gain the most operational data, Vattenfall
Nautimus Ltd and invested sufficient will gain information for the new product
capital to enable the business to begin design. By sharing the information all
developing its business plan as a system three will have more confidence in the
integrator for wave and tidal farms. If technology before considering investment
the business plan proves compelling, it in their own arrays elsewhere. ■
is hoped that Vattenfall, Babcock and
Abengoa will co-invest to undertake their
Business Development 15
 About Ocean Energy
Converting the enormous energy of the ocean waves into renewable electri-
city is a massive but challenging opportunity for Vattenfall. This annual
report gives you an insight in how Vattenfall’s dedicated R&D Projects team
is working on the Ocean Energy Development Programme to move from R&D
into actual commercial wave farms. It provides you with descriptions of some
of the 2011 highlights, including:

l The formulation of a new ocean energy strategy for Vattenfall.

l Achievement of some key milestones in the development of a Vattenfall’s
first (10MW) pilot wave farm off the Shetland Islands, The Aegir project:
- Lease agreement with The Crown Estate in the UK
- Partnership with the local community
- Deployment of two wave measurement buoys
- Completion of the Environmental Scoping Report and opinion
from the authorities.
l The formation of a the first engineering services company, with large
industrials partners, dedicated to wave energy: Nautimus Ltd.
l Technology development progress with the world leading technology
developer Pelamis Wave Power.

Asset Development
R&D Projects
Ocean Energy Development Programme

www.vattenfall.com

Vattenfall AB
SE - 162 87 Stockholm
Sweden
2012, April