Yellow buoys on west coast of Portugal

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Yellow buoys on west coast of Portugal Yellow buoys on west coast of Portugal by David Lumby

In December 2005 Terradaily published a report from
Agence France-Presse on a scheme to reduce oil
dependence in Portugal by installing a wave electricity
generating farm.

?Portugal is turning to wind, wave and solar power
to reduce its huge dependence on oil imports and meet
its international commitments to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions.

The world's first commercial wave power plant is set to
begin operating off Portugal's northern coast in 2006.

The wave power plant will be set up by a Portuguese
consortium in the Atlantic about five kilometres
(three miles) from the town of Povoa de Varzim and it
will generate 2.25 megawatts of power from 2006, enough
to supply 1,500 homes.

The project will use three wave power generators
supplied by Scottish firm Ocean Power Delivery for
eight million euros (9.4 million US dollars).

The generators look like giant floating sausages and
they rock with waves, pumping water to hydraulic motors
that drive generators to produce electricity.

If the initial phase is successful, the consortium said
it will order 30 more Pelamis P-750 generators by the
end of 2006.

The government wants waves to provide 50 megawatts of
power by 2010 but experts believe the country has the
potential to produce far more wave energy because it
has deep waters just off its shores that generate
strong swells?.

Unfortunately the experiment was not a success and the
'sausages' were quietly removed for modification. Local
sources say that the swell was too great for the machines.

This trial has left yellow buoys, some with flashing
lights, in the sea where the experiment took place, These
buoys mark the end of the cables to the shore and an ODAS
wave measuring buoy two miles to the north.

At the time of writing there is no area that is restricted
to navigation.

The position colour and light characteristics are:

ODAS buoy 38,37 N 9,23 W Yellow Fl(5) Y 20s
Cable end 71,27 N 8,48 W Yellow Not lit
Cable end 71,27 N 8,49 W Yellow Fl Y 2.5s
Cable end 71,27 N 8,50 W Yellow Fl Y 2.5s

David Lumby is the Honorary Local Representative of the Cruising Association for the North of Portugal. He is a retired British Chartered Accountant living in Viana do Castelo. He has cruised extensively on the coast of Portugal in the past. He is a director of Manor Houses Lda which finds holiday accommodation in Portugal for English speaking guests. His sailing pages on the Portuguese coast begin on http://www.manorhouses.com/ports/

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