In the next 18 months, Malta could become the first country in the Mediterranean to boast of a “wave farm” when a pilot project to generate electricity from the sea should be in operation. DexaWave Energy Malta, a company forming part of a consortium with DexaWave Denmark, plans that 20 wave converters, said to be “the first real wave farm in the world”, will be located to the north-west of Gozo, capable of generating a power output of five megawatts that could feed about 1,600 households.
The project is being funded by the National Research and Innovation Programme of the Malta Council for Science and Technology. The council has made a grant of almost €200,000 “to tap into the virtually unlimited potential of generating energy from wave power”.
The DexaWave converter has already been launched in the North Sea but the company is now working on building a machine that would be capable of working in Malta’s seas.
The University of Malta’s Physical Oceanography Unit is focusing its work on wave forecasting and assessing in detail the main coastal areas, including wave heights, that would provide the best wave generation potential, while also collaborating with the University’s Institute of Sustainable Energy. So far, a scale model of the wave converter has been set up at Marsascala and it is planned to have a full-sized machine by the end of this year, with the wave farm operating by the close of 2012.
This is an exciting project on two levels.
First, there is, of course, the intellectual challenge arising from the research that is now under way. This should provide clear insights into the potential benefits of this technology for future energy generation in a Mediterranean context. There are already such projects in, for example, Portugal, Scotland and the United States but not in the Mediterranean Sea. It should also lead to the construction of machines that would best suit the prevailing conditions in the area/s where they will be operational.
Secondly, and potentially the most important aspect, the project could lead, if successful, to this country being able to tap into a virtually unlimited source of cheap renewable energy supply.
The concept of wave farms is really a simple one. Ocean waves are caused by the wind as it blows across the sea and provide a powerful source of energy. The trick lies in harnessing this energy and converting it into electricity in sufficiently large amounts to make it a cost-effective investment.
The project being undertaken in Malta envisages the construction of machines that will be about the size of a 20- to 30-metre long boat and consisting of about 20 such low-lying structures spread over a relatively large area to comprise a “wave farm”.
The north-west of Gozo or the south of Malta appear to be the most likely candidates for their location.
They will have to be able to withstand rough conditions at sea, yet be able also to generate a reasonable amount of power from small waves. But, once successfully built, the energy will be free, would need no fuel to run them and would produce no waste or pollution.
If the results of this project are successful, this could give a positive boost to Malta’s so-far abysmal efforts at cutting its dependence on fossil fuels and coming anywhere close to meeting the national target set by the EU of providing 10 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.