Dexawave A/S has now started the practical part of the project to test the possibilities for Malta to get supplied with renewable energy from the Mediterranean waves. A scale model of Dexawave’s converter – has been placed in the sea off the Maltese town Marsascala and it is supposed together with measuring buoys off the neighbouring island Gozo to give an insight into the wave conditions and then throw light on if the energy from the waves can be used as energy at Malta.
Dexawave has taken care of the placement of the equipment and they are also going to analyze the collected data. The Maltese government supports the data collection through MCST – Malta Council for Science and Technology.
The wave converter is a 1:10 scale model of a Dexawave wave converter similar to the one that was previously tested in the Limfjorden in Denmark. The converter is placed so close to the coast that is serving as an attraction and is creating awareness amongst the local public. The converter produces electricity to its own consumption. In principle it works just like the bigger machines and in the evening it can be seen from the coast, because it is lit from a LED light with power from its own production.
The project at Malta is going to provide a basis for an economical calculation for the energy that can be produced in the Mediterranean by the Dexawave converter. The data is going to be matched with the data from the North Sea where a bigger converter for several months has been tested off Hanstholm.
DEXAWAVE has in cooperation with the local developer for energy solutions, Noel Gaci Group and Euromed Co Ltd established a company at Malta.
The test period extends until the end of 2012.
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Source: Dexawave, July 06, 2011;