Learning form the Islay wave power plant

In 1985, the wave power team at the Queen´s University of Belfast commenced work on the prototype shoreline wave power plant on the Isle of Islay. A natural rock gully 4 m wide was selected in the south facing side of a headland to reduce the amount of construction and provide a partially sheltered environment in which to gain `sea experience´ and conduct fundamental research, During 1988, a concrete plenum chamber 4 m wide, 9 m long and 9.7 m high was constructed and the pneumatic power output monitored for two years using a simple orifice. Finally, in May 1991, the plant was fully commissioned with the installation of the mechanical electrical plant and connection to the electrical distribution grid. The plant comprised a 1.2 m diameter biplane Wells turbine direct coupled to a 75 kW wound rotor induction motor operating as a generator above its synchronous speed of 1500 RPM. The design, construction and subsequent operation of the wave power plant has provided a significant insight into the feasibility of wave power conversion. The development of wave power plant poses a significant design challenge for civil, mechanical and electrical engineers. The plant must withstand the immense forces imposed during storms yet efficiently convert the slow cyclic motion of waves into a useful energy source such as electricity and do so at a mice competitive with other forms of generation. The step from the laboratory to prototype installations is considerable and was undoubtedly underestimated at the outset of the project