Wavegen
Wave energy company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wavegen Limited (later Voith Hydro Wavegen Limited) was a wave energy company based in Inverness, Scotland. It was founded in 1990 by Allan Thomson.[1] It was sold to Voith Hydro in 2005, and they closed the company in 2013.
| Company type | Limited |
|---|---|
| Industry | Engineering |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder | Allan Thomson |
| Defunct | 2013 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Matthew Seed (CEO) |
| Products | Limpet wave energy converters |
| Parent | Voith Hydro |
History
In 2000, Wavegen became the first company in the world to connect a commercial scale wave energy device (LIMPET) to the grid on the Scottish island of Islay.[2] The LIMPET (Land Installed Marine Powered Energy Transformer) is a shoreline device which produces power from an oscillating water column.
In May 2005, Wavegen was bought by Voith Hydro, a subsidiary of Voith.[3]
Together with the Faroese power company SEV, Wavegen had planned to develop the SeWave wave energy plant project in Nípanin in the Faroe Islands.[4] It was also the developer of the Siadar Wave Energy Project.[5]
On 17 November 2011, Wavegen put into operation the world's first commercial full life Limpet wave power plant. The 300-kW plant was sold to Ente Vasco de la Energía in Spain.[5]
In March 2013 Voith Hydro decided to close down Wavegen choosing to concentrate on tidal power projects.[6]