SEAI gets green light to build wave test site substation

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has been granted permission to construct a 20kV substation that will connect the AMETS test site to the Irish grid.

The permission relates to the construction of a 20kV substation building that will house the electrical equipment and offices, and serve the proposed offshore test facility for wave energy converters known as the Atlantic Marine Energy Test Site (AMETS).

The green-light for the substation construction was given by An Bord Pleanála, Ireland’s quasi-judicial body that decides on appeals from planning decisions made by local authorities in Ireland, on April 18, 2017, following the review of appeals  to the Mayo County Council’s decision to grant the permission to SEAI.

The development will also comprise the installation of five underground electrical cables and associated communication cables for approximately 600 meters in the public road and an associated underground cable joint bay located in the area of Belderra Strand.

SEAI owns a foreshore lease for two berths at AMETS for a period of 35 years, granted in 2015. The site is envisioned as a testing ground for full scale wave energy devices in extreme open ocean conditions.

It is anticipated that a maximum power of 10MW will be generated at the site, which is the equivalent of providing power to 10,000 homes, according to SEAI.