By Renewable Energy Focus staff

The 500 kW wave power prototype weighs 1600 tonnes, is 30 m long, 9 m tall and has a draft of around 7 m. Around 2 m of the wave power device will be visible above the surface.

The Penguin wave power device captures rotational energy generated by the moving of its asymmetrically shaped hull which moves with each passing wave. The motion is used to accelerate and maintain the revolutions of a spinning flywheel housed inside the hull, which drives an electric generator.

The deployment programme for the Penguin will be managed by a team of Orkney-based companies lead by consultancy Aquatera and Orcades Marine Management Consultants.

An Aquatera spokesperson told Renewable Energy Focus that the Penguin wave power device is planned to have a capacity between 0.5 and 1 MW, and that they are "intended for deployment in complete fleets that can consist of any desired number of units."