CorPower Secures 10-year Marine License in Portugal for Wave Energy Project

CorPower Ocean, a Sweden-based developer of wave energy converters, has secured a 10-year marine license in Portugal.

The company said the license provides a ‘Permit for the Private Use of the Maritime Space’ up to 12 miles off the coast of Aguçadoura in northern Portugal.

With the license secured, the company has said it is now set to "unleash a world-leading wave energy project in the Atlantic Ocean."

CorPower Ocean Country Manager Miguel Silva said the permit unlocks the demonstration phase of the firm’s HiWave-5 project, paving the way for a new class of high-efficiency Wave Energy Converter products.

The CorePower WEC is of point absorber type, with a heaving buoy on the surface absorbing energy from ocean waves and which is connected to the seabed using a tensioned mooring line. The device oscillates in resonance with the incoming waves, amplifying the motion and power capture.

“CorPower has reached a series of milestones throughout 2020 and the [marine] license is another significant step forward,” he said. “This permit allows kickstarting the final phases of our demonstration work in the Atlantic Ocean, which will test our next generation WECs within the most aggressive and challenging maritime conditions.”

“The Aguçadoura coastal zone is a world-renowned site for marine renewable energy and has previously hosted the demonstration of floating offshore wind technology, now fully operational and supplying electricity to Portugal’s grid. There is huge potential for wave energy developments to deliver consistent and predictable clean electricity along the Portuguese coast, either as standalone wave farms or combined with floating wind.”

The Swedish-headquartered developer is currently building its first commercial-scale C4 WEC – 9x18m, weighing 60 tonnes with a 300kW power rating. Dry testing is scheduled for spring 2021, before ocean installation in the second half of 2021. This will be followed by a cycle of testing and design updates to further develop the commercial stage C5 machines. A total of three C5 machines will then be installed in Aguçadoura in 2023 to form a grid-connected pilot array and secure type certification.