§ Mr. Dempseyasked the Secretary of State for Energy what plans his Department has for research and development into the utilisation of wave energy.
§ Mr. EadieOn the recommendation of my Advisory Council on Research and Development, a national research and development programme into wave energy is being initiated. The first stage, which will last two years and cost roughly £1 million, is aimed at establishing the feasibility of the large-scale extraction of power from sea waves, and generating information which will enable the cost of further development to be estimated.
151WFour devices, each based on a different mode of wave-to-mechanical energy transfer, will be studied. In addition, a supporting programme will examine problems common to all the devices, for example, collection and analysis of wave data, wave loading and the effect on structures, anchoring and mooring problems, and power generation and transmission. The value to the national system of a varying and partly unpredictable supply of electricity will be assessed, and preliminary studies will be made of possible effects of large scale installations on navigation and on the environment.