Bombora Wave Power scouts for marine ops services for mWave demonstrator

August 31, 2022, by Amir Garanovic

Bombora Wave Power is looking to appoint a contractor who would provide marine operations services for its mWave wave energy demonstration project.

mWave wave energy device under construction (Courtesy of Bombora Wave Power)

In recent weeks, Bombora Wave Power has entered the final test and assembly phase of the ground-breaking £20 million Pembrokeshire Demonstration Project, as it prepares to validate what’s said to be the world’s most powerful wave energy converter – the mWave device.

The company said earlier the assembly work for the device will be completed quayside in Pembroke Dock, before loadout to the operational site at East Pickard Bay, where the mWave technology will be validated in the open ocean, advancing it to technology readiness lever (TRL) 7/8 – the stage where the device prototype has been demonstrated and qualified in an operational environment.

Bombora Wave Power has already hired a Dorchester-based company Shoreline Surveys to plan and mobilize a survey vessel and complete the pre-installation hydrographic and geophysical surveys at the mWave’s deployment site.

Now, the company is looking for the contractor who would be responsible for the installation, operations and maintenance of the mWave device.

The mWave wave energy device, rated at 1.5MW, is comprised of a series of air-inflated concave cells covered with rubber membranes and mounted into a steel foundation structure.

The cell modules are arranged at an angle to the incoming waves to maximize energy capture. As waves pass overhead, air is squeezed out of each cell module in sequence, passing through one-way valves and into a duct system fitted with an axial turbine before being recirculated to refill each of the cell modules once the wave has passed.

The device weighs 900 tonnes, and is 75 meters long, 15 meters wide and 6 meters high. According to Bombora Wave Power, the mWave cell modules can be configured to suit fixed-bed nearshore foundation systems, or floating offshore ocean energy systems.

Bombora Wave Power said the services required for the scope of work include the completion of the design/planning needed for the marine works, as well as the execution of the installation marine works involving the towing and lowering of a large floating structure.

Also, the contractor will be required to conduct operations and maintenance marine works as well.

The contractor will need to demonstrate its ability to detail the mooring arrangement, design tow gear, deck plans and sea fastening and run a HIRA workshop, and to provide and manage offshore operations using qualified and experienced personnel.

The deadline to apply to the tender has been set for September 23, while the contract is expected to be awarded on October 14, 2022.

Bombora’s mWave solution harnesses wave energy at large scale to produce environmentally friendly, consistent and cost-competitive renewable energy for commercial power generation, according to the company.

The mWave device can be installed in both nearshore and offshore sites, and its cell modules are said to have a unique ability to shut down in extreme storm events. This limits the design loads reducing capital costs and improving the all-important cost of electricity, Bombora Wave Power claims.

The Pembrokeshire Demonstration Project, a flagship project for the company, aims to prove the reliability, performance and competitiveness of Bombora’s mWave technology, while further informing the InSPIRE project and a series of other global initiatives in Bombora’s pipeline.

To remind, the InSPIRE project seeks to validate the competitive levelized cost of energy (LCOE) target for an integrated floating wave and wind platform to below €50/MWh by 2030.

Developed in consortium with TechnipFMC, the first phase of the project will comprise the design and buildout of a 12MW demonstrator, with integrated 4MW mWave and 8MW wind turbine on a shared floating platform.