A MARINE energy company based in Pembrokeshire has awarded the majority of contracts required to deliver the project.

Bombora have awarded 70per cent of the service contracts required to deliver the 1.5MW mWave Pembrokeshire project.

This is largely made up of the supply chain contracts, with a large proportion being awarded to local suppliers such as Mainstay Marine Solutions, Altrad Services, Ledwood and Kingswood Engineering.

The test phase of the project is currently on schedule for deployment in mid-2020 in Pembrokeshire and a bigger scheme in Lanzarote, Spain already on the horizon.

Unlike most other wave energy devices, mWave sits below the surface of the water, where it captures energy from the pressure of waves passing overhead.

Locating the device below the surface of the sea overcomes the survivability challenge which has dogged previous wave energy developers.

Bombora’s follow up 2MW Lanzarote Project is currently seeking consent. This grid connected wave park will be commissioned in 2022. Bombora has identified a pipeline of follow up commercial opportunities around the world.

Chris Williams, commercial manager at Bombora, said: “mWave has the potential to transform the marine energy sector and it is very exciting to see fabrication nearing completion.

“We are delighted to be able to bring this project to fruition in Pembrokeshire, with over £6 million committed to local suppliers to date.

“It has been less than two years since the project was approved by the Welsh European Funding Office, and it has been a fantastic team effort to minimise the time it takes to design and build a full scale wave energy converter, as well as develop a fully consented test site.”

“As well as testing the nearshore mWave in 2020, we are also excited to be expanding the mWave product range to include floating offshore wave and floating hybrid wind plus wave options”.

Bombora plans to export its technical know-how and expertise from its Pembrokeshire base utilising the experienced supply chain that is being developed during the Pembrokeshire project.