Vattenfall backs pioneering Irish Wavebob project

Swedish energy giant Vattenfall has joined forces with Irish startup Wavebob to accelerate the development of a pioneering wave energy technology.

The firms have formed a joint venture, known as Tonn Energy, which will work to install a series of demonstration generators at a site off the coast of Mayo County.

Under the partnership, which has also received backing from government body Sustainable Energy Ireland, Vattenfall will provide €1m (£911,000) to fund the installation of the prototype devices.

The technology features a weight suspended below the water from a floating buoy. The waves cause the buoy to move relative to the weight, driving a generator capable of producing an estimated 1.5MW.

Tonn Energy said it aims to to install more than 160 units at the Irish site, generating nearly 250MW in total. It is hoped that a commercial-scale rollout will begin from 2013.

Göran Dandanell, director and head of business development at Vattenfall UK, said that the combination of "magnificent ocean wave resource" and government support had made Ireland "a focal point for the development of commercial ocean wave energy".

Vattenfall's backing for the project represents a major coup for Ireland's embryonic wave energy industry, according to Eamon Ryan, Ireland's minister for communications, energy and natural resources.

"The participation of a major power utility such as Vattenfall, together with the commitment of its Irish partners – which I applaud – in Ireland's energy programme, marks a further step towards realising the considerable opportunities represented by our ocean wave energy resource," he said.