Islay LIMPET

Islay LIMPET stands on the Rhinns of Islay, a rocky headland on the island’s west coast in Argyll and Bute. The device was the world’s first commercial wave power unit connected to the National Grid in November 2000. It began with a 500 kW rating before being reduced to 250 kW. Built by Wavegen with Queen’s University Belfast, the plant used a concrete chamber to capture wave energy. The site was chosen for easy access to the shoreline even in poor weather. The technology relied on an Oscillating Water Column that pushed air through a Wells turbine. The chamber measured three sections of 6 metres by 6 metres, with its opening below water level. Waves made the water inside rise and fall, compressing and decompressing air that drove two contra-rotating turbines. Operation could be controlled remotely from Inverness or Belfast via ISDN links. In its first winter the plant survived waves expected only once every fifty years. Visitors today see the remaining concrete structure of the wave chamber on the shore. The rest of the plant has been removed after decommissioning in 2011. Nearby the Mutriku Breakwater Wave Plant in Spain used the same design with sixteen turbines. The site marks an early step in wave energy development and remains a visible landmark on Islay’s rugged coastline.