Carnegie Clean Energy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) as the potential site of a 6 megawatt CETO wave energy array. This array would include 6 of the 1 MW commercial scale CETO units, all connected to the grid via BiMEP’s existing offshore cable and grid connection.
This 6MW CETO array project is the next key step in CETO’s commercialization pathway, and Carnegie intends to progress early project development in parallel with the deployment and operation of the ACHIEVE CETO Unit at BiMEP.
Wave energy has the theoretical potential to supply as much electricity as the world currently consumes. Water is 800 times denser than wind and since the ocean covers 72% of the planet, wave power is widely accessible. Wave energy is also highly reliable and predictable. Studies show that a clean energy mix including wave energy typically requires less than half the installed capacity, half the grid infrastructure, and 20–50% less storage compared to a cost-optimal system based solely on solar and wind.
Carnegie is already growing its presence in the Basque Country where it is working towards the first deployment of CETO in Europe as part of the ACHIEVE Programme.
“Working alongside BiMEP, the Basque Energy Cluster and our local partners and supply chain through the ACHIEVE Programme has shown us that the Basque Country shares our passion for ocean energy solutions,” said Carnegie CEO Jonathan Fiévez. “This makes the Basque Country a great location for this next phase of CETO’s commercialization journey.”
“Our strategic aim is to provide suitable test facilities that help accelerate the path to commercial marine energy,” said Yago Torre-Enciso, BiMEP Technical Director. “Therefore, with 20MW worth of capacity available across the BiMEP berths, we welcome the opportunity to work with Carnegie to expand from a single CETO unit to an array deployment. While BiMEP has hosted single wave devices in the past, our berths have the ability to support the small arrays which are an important part of the marine energy industry’s growth.”
The MOU will run initially for five years unless extended by mutual agreement. Each party will bear its own costs under the agreement.
