Carnegie Clean Energy and its supply chain partners have completed the fabrication and manufacture of many key components of the scaled CETO wave energy unit to be deployed at Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP) as part of the ACHIEVE Programme, with the final component fabrication work packages underway.
Over recent months, the off-the-shelf components, including the dynamic cable and export cable connector, alongside the completed manufacturing of specialized equipment, including primary mooring connectors, have been delivered. Fabrication of structural elements, such as the electrical module, described as CETO’s “brain”, and bespoke metal equipment, including the drums and sheaves, has also been completed.
The fit-out of the electrical module has also been completed, with all previously tested control and electrical systems assembled and installed in situ. Key metal elements of the power take-off system, such as the main drum, sheaves, and tensioner metallic elements, have also been manufactured.
Final fabrication work is being undertaken on the three power take-off (PTO) module frames which serve as the “powerhouse” of the unit and contain the generators, drums, and belt systems that produce the onboard electricity for export back to shore. Once fabricated, they will be fitted with their internal components and will undergo a final testing regime before being integrated into the buoyant actuator and deployed.
Additional equipment nearing completion includes elements such as the quick connector developed with Quoceant and the mooring tensioner units, with the first batch of composite elements ready for assembly ahead of upcoming system testing.
According to Carnegie, many of the components procured for the CETO unit had undergone commissioning tests by the supplier before being delivered to the company last year. Over recent months, functional and mechanical testing have been completed on bespoke components.
In the coming months, the team will undertake the final back-to-back PTO testing regime of PTO modules at SKF in Germany before they are integrated into the buoyant actuator in the Basque Country, ready for deployment.
Carnegie notes that the testing regime is important to ensure the mechanical and electrical systems are validated against modelling and ready for final integration and deployment of the CETO unit. Ultimately, all of the lessons learned through onshore and offshore testing are valuable for the commercialization of the technology.
Deployment, commissioning and grid connection are planned later this year.
