"Nearshore" wave energy device deployed on Orkney

The UK's first "nearshore" wave energy turbine was deployed this week at the European Marine Energy Centre at Billia Croo in Orkney.

The first phase of the installation project saw the 194-tonne Oyster device lowered onto its seabed subframe and bolted in place. Work will now begin on the second phase, during which the device will be connected to sub-sea pipelines that will deliver high-pressure fresh water to an onshore turbine. Trials of the 0.5MW plant are expected to be undertaken later this year.

Unlike offshore wave energy devices, the system works by harnessing wave power to drive onshore turbines. The developer of the technology, Aquamarine Power, said that moving the electrical components onshore will lower the operating costs of wave energy devices by reducing the chance of breakdown in rough seas.

According to the company, a commercial wave farm of just 20 devices could provide 10MW of energy – enough for a town of 6,500 homes.

Martin McAdam, chief executive of Aquamarine Power, said the deployment was the first of its kind.

"No one has deployed a nearshore wave device before so we had to plan every detail of the operation," he said. "Getting Oyster into the water and connected to the seabed was always going to be the most difficult step and its completion is a real credit to everyone who has worked hard on planning and executing this major engineering feat on schedule and without any complications."

Sea trials will commence over the next two months and McAdam estimates the device will generate energy for the grid by the end of the year.

The Oyster system is one of six identified by the European Marine Energy Centre as an effective way of harnessing the energy from waves.

In 2007, the Scottish government awarded Aquamarine Power a grant of £275,000 as part of an £8m fund distributed to marine power firms operating in Scotland.