Wave power machine unveiled

Energy and climate change minister Lord Hunt has praised Trident Energy for a project initiated by the wave energy firm.

The company has developed a unique and patented system for converting sea wave energy directly into electricity.

The system, known as the Direct Energy Conversion Method (DECM), has only one moving part. Floats placed in the sea are used to drive linear generators, resulting in the immediate generation of electricity. No hydraulic equipment or air compression is required.

As per the information available, the Trident generator, the first of its kind ever to be built, will be left in the North Sea initially for three months, before it is converted into a full-size model.

Its inventor Hugh-Peter Kelly said: "Wave energy has been neglected. It is the hardest but most rewarding form of renewable energy. Forty per cent of our entire national energy needs for electricity can come from harnessing wave power around the UK."

Trident Energy, which is based in Southend, commissioned marine engineers Small & Co, in Commercial Road, Lowestoft, to build the framework rig.  

Trident Energy is currently working on its first offshore trials and will be deploying a system off the east coast of England during the first quarter of 2009. It is currently in the final stages of preparing for the deployment in the North Sea of a fully functional test rig. This will be used to obtain performance data and operational capability prior to the design and deployment of the company's first full scale commercial 1MW rig.