AN IRISH expert remains absolutely convinced that energy derived from the waves around our coastline will be providing power to our homes within the next five years. However, a "bottleneck" threatens to slow the process of bringing it ashore.
"Yes, definitely we will get energy from the waves, I am convinced of that," says Dr Tony Lewis, the director of University College Cork's Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre.
He has catalogued a number of Irish companies currently testing quarter-scale models of wave-energy devices in Galway Bay, all of which could potentially be developed as commercial systems. Yesterday's announcement that Swedish power company Vattenfall is to collaborate with one of them, Wavebob Ltd, will hasten the day when we begin taking "free" energy from the oceans.
The involvement of a large company in the project and commitments of support promised by Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan for wave-energy producers ensures that wave energy will develop here, Dr Lewis believes.
"The Minister has made a commitment to the companies, so there is money in place. I don't see any difficulty after proving the suitability [of a design] that we will start to see commercial machines coming out in 2010 or 2011."
Mr Ryan's commitment came on January 15th when he launched an ocean energy initiative. The €26 million programme included two key supports, a guaranteed "feed-in" tariff promising producers €220 per megawatt hour of electricity supplied and €2 million to develop a power grid connection at Annagh/French Point near Belmullet, Co Mayo.
"The time is right and we can be sure the people involved in the companies have the experience and financial resources to make it happen," Dr Lewis says.
He foresees connection difficulties, however, if the Government holds to its target that wave energy should deliver 500 megawatts of power here by 2030 as we do not have the heavy grid connections in place at the moment to handle this level of power input.
"There is a logjam at the moment, all of the wave plans are off the west coast. If we want to go to 500 megawatts. we will have to develop the grid to cope with it."
Dr Lewis suggests a heavy-duty grid line running along the west coast to the Moneypoint power station. This already sits on heavy connections which route its coal-fired power on to the national grid, so it would be ideal, he believes.
Dr Lewis has direct involvement in studying some of the devices being tested in Galway Bay including Ocean Energy Ltd's EO Buoy. His research centre has a large tank which can simulate the effects of wave motion on models of the various wave energy machines.
Wave energy offers huge potential of the machines being built to successfully harvest it, Dr Lewis says. Making use of the tidal swell, particularly off the east coast, also holds promise but on a much smaller scale.
A recent Sustainable Energy Ireland study indicated that if all the potential in tidal flows could be captured, it might deliver about 5 per cent of our energy needs, he adds, and if wave power was fully utilised, it could deliver 10 times our entire national demand. Whatever wave power could be claimed would make a contribution, if even a moderate one.
Dr Lewis says that by 2020, the target of 500 megawatts of wave power would represent 5 or 6 per cent of expected national demand.