Thumbs up for future of wave power

The wave power array outside Lysekil is one of five projects to share the SEK 875 million that the government has allocated for a special fund for the coming three years. This was announced at a press conference in Lysekil today, where the present and future of wave power was presented on the basis of tests at the experimental facility.

The press conference was given by Uppsala University, the energy company Fortum, which has financed the final stage of the pilot facility, the Swedish Energy Agency, and the Seabased company, which is developing the technology.

"The development of Seabased technology has been impressive, and the Swedish Energy Agency decided yesterday to make a larger demonstration facility one of the five high-priority projects for government funding within the framework of the SEK 875 million the government allocated for a special fund over three years," says Tomas Kåberger, director general of the Swedish Energy Authority.

Christian Lundberg, CEO of Fortum, Sweden, stated that the step from test to full-scale facility is now possible, and Billy Johansson, CEO of Seabased, has received signals that the industry can grow rapidly as soon as there is a reference facility on a larger scale.

"This is a clear signal to the world that Uppsala research is leading this field. I'm also proud that the University can be part of future energy solutions," says Vice Chancellor Anders Hallberg.

"The future looks extremely promising. It's gratifying to realize that our concept, which is based on simple and robust technology, actually works," says Mats Leijon, professor of electricity at Uppsala University, whose research team devised the technology.

The research facility is carrying out full-scale experiments with the transmission of electricity to land via several linked units. The technology for extracting electricity from wave power at the surface-level of the sea is unique. Construction of the experimental facility started outside Lysekil, on the west coast of Sweden, in 2004 and has since been further developed with funding from the Swedish Energy Agency and Fortum, among others. Other power companies and research foundations have also helped finance an expansion.

Huge amounts of data are now waiting to be analyzed, including some from stormy weather, which is important, since the functioning of the facility under such conditions is one of the critical points.

For more information, please contact:
Mats Leijon, Uppsala University, cell phone: +46 (0)76-143 04 00