A LOOK AT THE MOST POWERFUL WAVE POWER EVER RECORDED
July 31, 2025
'Central de Ondas do Pico' was the first wave energy plant in the world on a real scale to be connected to an electricity distribution network. Entirely of Portuguese design, this 400 kW rated plant was constructed in Portugal. In 1999, the construction was completed. This plant was located over shore. It was under autonomous operation mainly in 2010 and dismantled in 2018 for the reasons of the safety of the structure.
In 2008, three Pelamis devices were installed 5 km off Aguçadoura beach, each with a rated power of 750 kW, formed a wave energy farm. It was the first wave energy farm (2.25 MW) in the world to inject electricity into a national distribution network. Portuguese sea has hosted several experimental wave energy devices, including the 'Central de Ondas do Pico' and the Pelamis as well, according to the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology – Portugal.
Ocean Power Delivery Ltd started developing an offshore Wave Energy Converter called Pelamis, for deployment in water depths over 50 m. A prototype (1/7th scale) integrating the full hydraulic power take-off, control and data acquisition systems had been tested in the Firth of Forth1.
Scottish company Pelamis Wave Power (formerly Ocean Power Delivery) developed the Pelamis (also called the sea snake), which would use the motion of the sea to generate electricity. The Pelamis P2 was tested off Orkney between 2010 and 2014. The company went into administration in November 2014, with the intellectual property transferred to the Scottish Government body Wave Energy Scotland.
Related: Billia Croo, to Become the UK’s Largest Wave Energy Site
The Pelamis P2-001 device was decommissioned in April 2016 and sold to the Orkney Island Council for £1. The other device, P2-002, was sold to the European Marine Energy Centre for use as a test rig.
John Ross Scott, a Scottish Green Councillor, believes that the device should be preserved and put in a museum to mark its importance in the history of renewables development in Orkney.
Councillor Scott:
“Pelamis deserves to be recognised as the world’s first offshore wave power converter to successfully generate electricity. Scrapping it would be like destroying the Wright brothers’ plane. ”
“All other versions of Pelamis have been destroyed, so this is the one remaining original, and its fate hangs in the balance. Can it be saved for posterity as an example of the pioneering work on early wave power development, or will it just be condemned like the others to the dustbin of time?”
“While I appreciate that museums and galleries around the UK are facing hard times in the current financial crisis, I know that the Science Museum in London is taking a keen interest in preserving ground-breaking renewable technology and the Victoria and Albert Museum in Dundee, close by the home of Dr Richard Yemm, who developed Pelamis."
The 750 kW device is currently moored at Lyness. It comprises five sections connected by hydraulic rams.
Managing Director (European Marine Energy Centre) - Neil Kermode:
“Pelamis were EMEC’s first clients and started testing their P1 device in Orkney in 2004. This became the world’s first offshore wave machine to generate electricity into the grid, and led to the development of the P2 devices, which began testing in 2010."
“Sadly, the company went into administration in 2014, ceasing further development of the Pelamis technology: a stark result of the tough economic climate that this sector faces as it endeavours to innovate, pioneering new technologies to harness the power of the waves – a new and sustainable energy resource."
“As a testing centre for pre-commercial technologies, we are going to see some technologies succeed, and some that will not. However, what’s important is that the colossal amount of learning that is gained from real sea testing is shared so that the next generation of wave energy technologies can prosper, and I’m glad to say many of the wave technologies developing today have benefited from Pelamis’ lessons learnt."
Pelamis P1
In 2004, Pelamis Wave Power demonstrated its first full-scale prototype, the P1, at EMEC’s wave test site at Billia Croo. The device was 120m long, 3.5m in diameter and comprised four tube sections.
Here, the P1 became the world’s first offshore wave power converter to successfully generate electricity into a national grid. It was tested at EMEC until 2007.
Pelamis P2
The findings from Pelamis P1 testing at EMEC led to the development of its second-generation device – the P2.
The P2 comprised five connected sections which flex and bend in the waves. This movement was harnessed by hydraulic rams at the joints, which in turn drove electrical generators located inside the device. The device measured 180m long, four metres in diameter and was approximately 1,350 tonnes.
The first P2 machine, P2-001, was ordered by E.ON UK in 2009: the world’s first wave power machine to be purchased by a utility company. Arriving in Orkney in July 2010, the 750 kW P2 machine was installed at the Billia Croo wave test site for the first time in October 2010. Following a three-year testing programme, the P2-001 returned to the ownership of Pelamis Wave Power for continued demonstration alongside the Scottish Power Renewables owned P2-002.
The testing or ‘work-up’ programme deployed by Pelamis was structured through a series of weather states, each with progressively higher wave heights. This approach allowed progressive management of risk for the technology and the ability to find and handle any unexpected technical issues as they arised. Inspection and maintenance work was carried out at Lyness, where the machine was located when not at the wave test site.
Source:
