EVE opens €500K marine renewables demo call

Basque energy agency Ente Vasco de la Energía (EVE) has launched a call for grants for the demonstration and validation of emerging marine renewable energy technologies.

The call, launched on June 26, 2017, is part of the wider annual aid program that has a total budget of €6.5 million for this year.

The aid program for the demonstration and validation of emerging marine renewable energy technologies has been allotted €500,000 for 2017.

The deadline for submitting project applications is set for October 31, 2017, or until the budget allocated to this effect is exhausted.

The projects eligible for aid include pilot testing of full-scale, or almost full-scale, wave energy prototypes at the demonstration and validation phase.

Also, pilot testing of offshore wind turbines, floating platforms for wind turbines, and marine renewables associated equipment are also eligible for support.

EVE noted that the demonstration and testing must be carried out in infrastructure for testing emerging marine renewable energy devices in the open sea and within the Basque Country.

The agency also said that for the 2018-2019 period,  it plans to allocate €1 million for each year to support the development of marine renewable energies.

The Basque Country is home to the 20MW Biscay Marine Energy Platform (Bimep), launched in 2015, with the aim to provide the open-sea infrastructure for research, development and operation of marine energy converters.

EVE is the majority owner of the test site, located 1.7 km off the town of the coastal town of Armintza.

Note: The previous version of the article titled ‘EVE opens €1.2M marine renewables demo call’ has been amended as the figure of €1.2 million represents the sum of total investments made by EVE through its three-year aid program for marine energies over the 2015-2017 period, according to EVE’s External Relations Department.