On the right wavelength to start pioneering £42m project

CONSTRUCTION of Hayle's pioneering offshore Wave Hub project will begin next week.

The £42 million project was given the financial green light by the Government in July and contractors are set to start work on Monday.

It centres around an electricity socket on the seabed 10 miles off the coast that will allow wave energy devices to be tested on a large scale.

Forefront

Supporters say the scheme will place the town at the forefront of the global marine energy industry, attracting investment and creating jobs.

The South West Regional Development Agency describes the project as a "cornerstone" of its strategy and hopes it will be operational next year, with devices deployed in 2011.

Stephen Peacock, director of Enterprise and Innovation at SWRDA, said the "milestone" was the culmination of more than six years' work.

"It will catapult South West England and the UK to the forefront of wave energy development," he said. "Our aim is to create an entirely new low carbon industry providing hundreds of quality jobs."

The project is funded with £12.5 million from SWRDA, £20 million of European Union money and £9.5 million from the UK government. In July, South West England was designated the UK's first Low Carbon Economic Area, attracting a further £10 million of government investment for supporting projects. The total investment in the south west marine energy programme is expected to top £100 million.

Energy and Climate Change Minister Lord Hunt said: "The scope for wave and tidal energy around the UK's shores is massive and this will help developers test their cutting edge projects and reach commercial viability."

There are four berths available on the hub for wave devices, each covering an area of two square kilometres.

Potential

It will have an initial maximum capacity of 20MW – enough to power 7,000 homes – but has the potential to scale up to 50MW in the future.

The first phase of construction will be on shore, with civil engineers Dean and Dyball drilling a 200-metre duct under and through sand dunes on the beach at Hayle.

This will be lined with a pipe as it is bored out and will eventually link the sub-sea cable with a new electricity sub-station on the site of the former power station.

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