News Brief
First Commercial Wave Power Plant
This 500 kW wave-power plant began commercial operation late last year on the island of Islay, off the western coast of Scotland.
Photo: Wavegenworld’s first commercial wave-power plant began operation in late November on the Scottish island of Islay, feeding approximately 500 kW of power into the United Kingdom power grid.
The technology was jointly developed by Wavegen, which built and owns the power station, and Queens University Belfast. The technology employed is known as LIMPET (Land Installed Marine Powered Energy Transformer). An oscillating water column alternately compresses and decompresses trapped air, forcing the air back and forth through a pair of specialized contra-rotating “Wells” turbines. Because the generator system remains on land, access is easy, and maintenance is expected to be minimal. For information visit
Published March 1, 2001 Permalink Citation
(2001, March 1). First Commercial Wave Power Plant. Retrieved from https://www.buildinggreen.com/newsbrief/first-commercial-wave-power-plant
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